Securing Masonry's Future

JOURNAL: ISSUE 4 - 2012

Mike Schmerbeck, President of Back Brook Masonry, addresses the Executive Council on the annual Masonry Design/Build competition sponsored by the Masonry Contractors of New Jersey.

The Executive Council welcomed two speakers who, for more than a decade, have orchestrated one of the nation's top university-based masonry design competitions, the Masonry Design/Build competition at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in Newark sponsored by the Masonry Contractors of New Jersey (MCNJ). Signatory contractor, IMI Board member and immediate past MCNJ President Mike Schmerbeck traced the evolution of the program from its humble start to one that unquestionably helps future design professionals understand the full potential of masonry and really "get" that masonry is the best solution for the building enclosure. Schmerbeck's co-presenter at the Council meeting was Urs Gauchat, Professor of Architecture and Dean of the College of Architecture and Design at NJIT. Together, they narrated video clips of each segment of the competition, which gears up each spring semester, when second year NJIT architecture students are assigned a studio project to design a masonry building. After organizing into teams, students pick the best design from among their team members, refine it, then select a section and develop a full scale mock-up. During a single weekend, each team works with members of New Jersey Administrative District Council Locals 2, 4 and 5 to construct its mock-up. The following Monday, verbal and graphic presentations are given to a panel of jurors, with awards presented that evening.

A former juror himself, BAC President James Boland praised the competition's impact on creating future work hours for members and also commended NJ ADC Director Rich Tolson for all that he and his members do to advance the program, including "convincing these soon-to-be practicing architects just how critical skilled craftworkers are to fulfilling their designs," he said.