InStudio Made Competition in Full Swing!
The American Galvanizers Association (AGA) is dedicated not only to educating current specifiers, but also engineering and architecture students across North America. Unfortunately, one of the biggest limitation to specifying hot-dip galvanized steel is ignorance or misinformation. That's why the AGA has a long, established history of educating existing and emerging specifiers about the benefits of utilizing hot-dip galvanized steel.
When it comes to educating students, the AGA has developed a number of targeted engagement opportunities. In 2018, the AGA launched the InStudio Made competition in partnership with the American Institute of Architecture Students (AIAS). The Instagram competition invites students to use their creativity to sketch/model a project that could utilize hot-dip galvanized steel and post it to their feed using specified hashtags.
The goal of the competition is for students to learn about hot-dip galvanized steel and think about projects that would benefit from its corrosion protection. The AGA knows student life is hectic, and rather than add to the load, this competition allows students to submit past or current designs they are also doing for school assignments. Three winners will be awarded cash prizes, but the ultimate hope is to have the AGA partner with the students to make their sketch a reality!
Previous InStudio Made winners were the students from Georgia Institute of Technology. Their project, the Heffernan Pavilion was completed last year. The AGA stopped by campus to visit the Pavilion and discuss the project with the students. Overall the students and professor were thrilled with the learning experience and the use of hot-dip galvanized steel.
One of the students, Matt Singelton said, "I'm glad to have the experience with partners that facilitated this project." Another student, Charles Kim noted, "We choose hot-dip galvanized steel because it was the best way for the steel to ensure time and was also very visually pleasing." Watch the video to see more about the project and the students' experience.
The InStudio Made competition is the AGA's most recent student opportunity, but is is far from the only way for emerging professionals to interact with galvanized steel. The AGA launched the Galvanize Your Campus program in 2011, and over the last 8 years have offered design competitions, campus presentation/visits, and tours of hot-dip galvanizing facilities and galvanized steel projects. The AGA also awards the Galvanize the Future Scholarship annually to assist future specifiers with the rising cost of a college education.
The AGA looks forward to seeing all of the InStudio Made entries this fall, so don't forget to post your best ideas to Instagram before November 1st, 2020. And spots are filling up for campus visits, so don't for get to sign up for yours today!