1st Place ACE Competition
Last night was one of those moments where months of quiet work, sketches, meetings, and late design revisions suddenly came together.
Our St. Paul Hub Blue Team in the ACE Mentor Program was awarded 1st Place in the Annual Architecture–Construction–Engineering Competition. I had the privilege of serving as the design leader, guiding a group of students working across architecture, construction, and engineering disciplines to develop a design proposal from concept to presentation.
The ACE Mentor Program is unique because it mirrors the real structure of the building industry. Architects, engineers, and construction professionals collaborate with students to explore how ideas become buildings in the real world. Through this process we learn that great architecture is not only about form or aesthetics—it is also about structure, feasibility, teamwork, and problem-solving.
Throughout the project, our team worked together to transform early ideas into a coordinated design proposal. I served as the lead for the Rhino digital model, translating our team’s concepts into a fully realized 3D design. Taking the many ideas shared across the group and turning them into a coherent architectural model was one of the most exciting parts of the process. I was also responsible for the hand sketches used in our proposal, which helped communicate the atmosphere and spatial ideas behind the design during our presentation.
Winning first place was incredibly meaningful, not just because of the recognition but because it reflected the strength of the collaboration behind the project. Each person on the team contributed something essential, and the result was far stronger than anything one of us could have created alone.
I also want to extend a sincere thank you to BWBR for mentoring our Blue Team throughout the program. In particular, I’m grateful to Danielle Hilmo for her consistency, encouragement, and passion. She shared stories from her professional experience that were deeply meaningful and helped us better understand the real impact architecture can have on communities and the people who inhabit the spaces we design.
Programs like ACE remind me why I’m drawn to architecture in the first place. Architecture sits at the intersection of creativity and reality—where imagination meets engineering, and where design has the power to shape how people experience the world around them.
I’m already looking forward to dreaming up a new idea for next year’s competition. In the meantime, I’ll be heading to the Rhode Island School of Design this summer to study architecture at RISD Pre-College, where I’m excited to continue developing my design skills and exploring new ways of thinking about the built environment.
For now, I’m taking a moment to celebrate the accomplishment with our team and mentors. Over the coming weeks, I plan to continue refining elements of the project design before eventually sharing more about it here.
This experience has been a powerful reminder that the most exciting ideas often grow out of collaboration, curiosity, and the willingness to keep improving a design even after the competition ends.
