Mira Mesa HS

Project Overview: CCTE department introduced the Design Build challenge which happens every year in the Huntington Beach area by the Construction Industry Education Foundation. The Mira Mesa high school's engineering students took part in the open competition, where we build a 8X6X12ft shed. 

Project Initiation: Mira Mesa High School's Waterpolo/Swim team was in need of a modern, spacious pool deck shed that had a lean-to-shed roof, and a sunlight pop-up. The students began by making visits to the pool, NedBaumer Aquatics Center, and talking personally to the coaches as well as the pool managers to come to a consensus. The Waterpolo/Swim team gets a new shed, as well as the robotics/engineering students, get hands-on practice using power tools, and get construction industry connections. 

Project Exploration & Development: We began by making shed plans on the website, OnShape. The team brainstormed on how to maximize the space of the shed, the best roof truss ideas, as well as finding the materials that would be best for a pool deck shed. When sending the plans for review to the City of San Diego, we got feedback on ways to improve from professional architecture. A close-to-exact prototype was produced as a stepping tool for what pieces of wood goes where in the main shed. Roof truss designs were formed and tested to see which would be the most stable for the lean-to design. Our team took the Introduction to engineering design course providing them with the needed experience in OnShape. Math was also heavily used in the creation of the plans, initially, we had to scale down the materials for our prototype. 

Project Revision & Exhibition: The team sent the plans to the University of Texas architectural students that reviewed and gave us feedback on our design. The team, after completing the building of the shed, was inspired to use their newly learned architectural skills in helping the homeless in the area as well as benefit the earth. The Engineering students began making planters, which they then proceeded to plant flowers in, using the extra wood left from the shed building. 

Teachers: Meena Nandakumar - Engineering Teacher

Industry Sector: Engineering and Architecture