Team wins first place in Sustainable Solutions Competition

Homelessness and an inadequate supply of low income housing stocks are a growing challenge in the United States and globally. This year's American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Sustainable Solutions Competition "challenges students to develop a stronger understanding of sustainability and learn to incorporate sustainable solutions into everyday problems."

Students from BYU's Civil and Construction Engineering Sustainability Lab competed in the 2022 ASCE Intermountain Southwest regional competition in Las Vegas and won first place for their innovative approach to developing a safe and sustainable community focused on socioeconomic reintegration. Sophomores Jacob Neil and Spencer Burgon are co-captains of the team.

The team's approach was to use monolithic domes as sustainable, strong, and economical tiny homes, with additional domes as a shared community center for vocational training, recreational use, and other social programs. The proposed development included multiple innovative elements:

• solar pavers to generate over 50% of the community's electricity
• pervious roads and sidewalk areas to recharge the water table and decrease stormwater
• shared-space transit areas to encourage active transportation (e.g. walking and cycling) with easy access to public transportation and ride sharing
• bioretention cells (rain gardens) to filter runoff, reduce excess stormwater, and provide natural habitats
• xeriscaping with native plants compatible with local environments, reducing water consumption
• rain capture to limit runoff and decrease potable water consumption

Student team members were trained and certified in the Envision Sustainable Infrastructure Framework and provided a comprehensive report with design justifications for the development.

Professor Andrew South, one of the team coaches, shared this insight: "Competitions like these provide an excellent opportunity for students to combine state-of-practice training in real-world applications. This is an excellent example of experiential learning activities, which we value highly at BYU."

The team will present at the ASCE national competition hosted at the campus of Louisiana Tech University in June.