WSU Students to Design Police Station and Women’s Center in Peru

OGDEN, Utah — Students of interior design, construction management and design engineering technology at Weber State University will have 48 hours to design a women’s community center and a police station for a town in Peru, beginning Sept. 10.

The fourth annual competition will give students a problem-solving challenge commonly employed in the design-build industry called a “design charrette.” 

This year’s charrette concept came from a partnership between Weber State and Juan Mejia Baca University in Chiclayo, Peru. Leaders at the university helped WSU identify projects that would benefit Peruvian citizens.

“Juan Mejia Baca University has been doing community outreach to strengthen women,” said Jeremy Farner, design engineering technology assistant professor. “They have been offering cooking certificate courses in more than 15 rural communities. Now that many of these women have an official university certificate, the next proposal is to build a training facility where they can learn skills to create their own businesses.”

WSU students who participate in the charrette will design a store and restaurant- training facility for use by the women. Designs must incorporate Peruvian culture and customs.

In addition to the women’s center, students will design a police station in a town bordering Chiclayo. The town’s police force is operating without a finished structure, as corruption siphoned off the promised funding.

“The government is now threatening to pull enforcement funding if they do not find a way to finish the building.” Farner said. “The police force helps keep the city peaceful. Our task is to complete this building and contribute to the continued strides toward a safe community for this area.”

On Sept. 10 at 4 p.m., students will be assigned teams and given instructions. They will have until Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. to complete their designs, a video presentation and presentation board.  Once projects are submitted, a team of industry professionals will judge the work. The public is invited to attend an awards ceremony and social Sept. 12 at 7 p.m. Big D Construction and Hughes General Contractors will provide scholarships for the winners.

“Having the opportunity to experience team dynamics that foster creative thinking is a valuable learning experience,” said interior design assistant professor Kristen Arnold. “In addition, they have the added bonus of working on a project with a service focus that benefits other cultures.”

This is the first year construction management students will participate in the charrette. Chris Soelberg, associate professor of construction management, said his students will assist in providing detailed estimates and time schedules for the designs.

“The charrette provides our students the opportunity to work with other disciplines like they will be doing in the industry,” Soelberg said. “It also helps them in a team environment to be participants in design decisions based on constructability.”

WSU’s Center for Community Engaged Learning (CCEL) has been working on building strong relationships in Peru.  In the summer of 2014, 16 students, six alumni and two CCEL advisors visited Peru. They helped deliver water to families and worked on three renovation projects — two parks and a daycare called Rayitas de Sol, or Little Rays of Sun.

CCEL is preparing to lead a second study aboard to Peru in May 2016. Some of the best design elements created during the charrette will be used in the actual construction of the police station and women’s center.  CCEL and WSU’s Continuing Education department are also sponsors of the charrette.

For more information on the charrette, visit weber.edu/interiordesign/Interdisciplinary_Charrette.html.

Visit weber.edu/wsutoday for more news about Weber State University.

For high-resolution photos, please visit the following links:

https://wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/September-2015/i-H36KPMp/0/X2/IMG_2309-X2.jpg

https://wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/September-2015/i-Rs89NnL/0/X2/IMG_1325-X2.jpg

https://wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/September-2015/i-6nLKh3X/0/X2/Moon-26-X2.jpg

https://wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/September-2015/i-MhfsvHc/0/X2/Peru%20Trip%202014%20061-X2.jpg

https://wsuucomm.smugmug.com/Press-Release-Photos/2015-photos/September-2015/i-xjTqsPT/0/X2/Peru%20Trip%202014%20342-X2.jpg

 

Author:

Rachel Badali, Office of Marketing and Communications
801-626-7295 • rachelbadali@weber.edu

Contact:

Kristen Arnold, interior design assistant professor
801-395-3423 • kristenarnold@weber.edu

Jeremy Farner, design engineering technology assistant professor
801-626-6962 • jfarner@weber.edu

Chris Soelberg, construction management technology associate professor
801-395-3429 • csoelberg@weber.edu