First-year building construction science students – led by Assistant Professor Lee Carson and º£½ÇÉçÇø Dean Jim West – spent the semester working on several projects that prepared them and led up to the design and construction of two tiny house frames, one steel and one wood.
The students presented their work in front of classmates and several invited guests, including MSU Provost and Executive Vice President Judy Bonner, on Wed., Nov. 29.
When constructing the concrete foundation for both tiny houses, students learned in a hands-on manner about the nature of concrete, foundation systems, construction drawings and a quantity take off.
The structural frames portion of the project taught them about the properties of steel and wood structural frames, framing assembly techniques, job management, basic spatial layout designs and basic design decisions.
Important lessons were learned during the construction process about the value of working together as a team and communication.
Next semester, students will continue to learn about more of the construction process through further work on the tiny houses.