Michigan State University was awarded first place in the four-year college competition at the 2013 HBI Residential Construction Management Competition at the International Builders’ Show.
More than 50 teams representing universities, community colleges, high schools and career technical schools participated in the annual competition, in which students solve real-life construction management problems and present their solutions to a judging panel of residential construction industry experts.
This year’s construction problem for the four-year competition focused on the feasibility of developing and building homes on a 118-acre site in Saratoga Springs, Utah, assumed to have a market land basis of $4.5 million. The teams were prepared to discuss their selections of floor plans; submitted a construction estimate/budget; construction schedule; cash-flow projections, project management and organization plan; marketing and risk analysis; project site plan and land development plan; and green building initiatives.
All competition teams presented themselves as home building organizations. They submitted their written proposals prior to IBS for review by the judges, and the students defended their projects during proposal presentations live before the judges at IBS.