Each year the Auburn University College of Sciences and Mathematics (COSAM) and the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering host the “South’s BEST” (Boosting Engineering, Science and Technology) national robotics competition in the Beard-Eaves Memorial Coliseum. Every fall fifty or more teams of high school students from around the United States converge on Auburn for the annual competition, bringing with them bands, cheerleaders, dance teams, mascots, friends and family. All told, approximately 5000 people attend the event.

In 2002, we were invited by the co-directors of the program Dr. George Blanks (Director of K-12 Engineering Outreach, Ginn College of Engineering) and Dr. Mary Lou Ewald (Outreach Director, COSAM) to work with the BEST team to develop the “Look and Feel” of the games. The direct intent of this collaboration was to increase the profile of the then-regional competition to that of national status. Our primary responsibility in this regard is to design, fabricate and install a theatrical set that conveys the theme of each year’s game. Meant to “boost interest in engineering, science and technology” in young people, the South’s BEST is now the largest high school robotics competition in the nation and is the largest single scholarship recruiting effort for both the College of Engineering and COSAM.

Beginning 9 weeks into the semester, this project is the first real collaborative project on which our Freshman Students work. It encompasses a two-week charrette design process in which the students build large design study models, develop prototypes and make presentations to the client. Following the client’s “buy-in” we have a single week for fabrication and detailing, a final week for fabrication, and a single night in which to set our installation in the coliseum the evening prior to the competition. When the competition is over, the students have just a few hours to demount and roll up the installation.

Intentionally constrained by material limitations, an aggressive schedule, and the sheer overwhelming size of the project, it is simply impossible to “go it alone” in a project of this scope. Fabricated off-site and then “blitz-built” inside the coliseum in one night, the students learn what it is like to work together to realize a project that is entirely incomprehensible by any single individual.

We have continued to develop our strategies and tactics for this project over the years. The first year (Warp X, Blast from the Past!) we quite naturally used traditional set construction techniques (read: lots of plywood, studs, paint, screws. etc). Overwhelmed by the sheer scope of the project, the students proposed constructing a “Beautiful Floor” that comprehensively performs all of the functions required of the program. In the second year (Transfusion Confusion) we began the project with the single instruction to the students to “learn from last year”: How can we do more with less? How can we install (and demount) quickly? What kind of materials are less labor intensive?

These questions led us to investigate low-tech, inflatable technologies. In response, the students designed a theatrical set composed of inflatables and a giant backdrop based on themes of bodily vessels. In subsequent years (BEST Fever, Mission to Hubble, Plane Crazy!) we continued to emphasize learning from the previous work, challenging the students to push materials in new ways, and to incorporate color, pattern, and texture, lighting and sound in order to make it “bigger and more dramatic, but with half the stuff.” Also we have encouraged the students to consider the temporal aspects of the design: how might the built environment enhance the pace and flow of the competition.

This year’s theme (High Octane) dealt with the assembly of basic organic molecules into fuel agents. We decided that we would do the architectural equivalent by developing a series of large, complex cubic structures from a very simple kit of prefabricated components. This allowed us to grapple with issues of both sustainability and modular pre-fabrication. We not only did more with less, we also challenged the students to think through the life cycle of the materials, making sure that all of the materials utilized would have a useful second life. This year the Rural Studio will re-purpose all of the material in their Charity House project.

We believe that ongoing annual projects such as BEST are an important touchstone for students and faculty alike; both for those that are participating as well as for those that have participated before. Projects such as these tend to reinforce the “acculturated memory” of the program, and continue to raise the bar for those that follow in subsequent years. This project continues to be a great success for both our Foundation Unit Studio and the Architecture Program alike and has become cemented as the cornerstone initiation into the world of studio-based design education for our freshmen.

Click the thumbnail above for more images of this year’s installation.