NJIT masonry competition announces winners

The $7,500 first-place award went to Team BlackThe 2009 Masonry Design/Build Competition at the New Jersey Institute of Technology School of Architecture concluded Monday night, with a total of more than $20,000 in prize money awarded to winners in eight categories.

The $7,500 first-place award went to Team Black, which also won two $1,500 prizes for Best Presentation and Best Mock-Up. Team Black comprised 12 students and four masonry professionals. Other categories included second and third place, as well as Best Teamwork and Best Presenter.

The announcement of the winners wrapped up the competition’s second phase, or Build Weekend, which ran from April 16 to 20. During Build Weekend, eight teams — each composed of 10 to 12 NJIT architecture students and four or five members of the International Union of Bricklayers and Allied Craftworkers Administrative District Council of New Jersey — together built a masonry element of each team’s design. The team’s designs were created during the competition’s initial design phase, which began in February.

The Design/Build competition, which was established in 2003, allows second-year students at the architecture school to create using various masonry materials, while working with masonry trade professionals.