January 9th 2017

ACE Team 8 – Site Visit to St. Ann’s Warehouse

Th/e ACE Mentor Program of America, Inc. (ACE) helps mentor high school students and inspires them to pursue careers in design and construction. The mission of the ACE Mentor Program is to engage, excite and enlighten high school students to pursue careers in architecture, engineering, and construction through mentoring and to support their continued advancement in the industry. ACE not only engages sponsors and volunteer mentors to expose students to real-world opportunities, it financially supports each student's continued success through scholarships and grants.

Team 8 members and mentor earn about the history of St. Ann’s Warehouse.

On Monday January 9, 2017 DDC ACE Team 8 visited St. Ann’s Warehouse in Brooklyn. The institution was originally a church. St. Ann’s relocated to DUMBO, under the assumption that it was going to be repurposed into a condominium complex. As the promises of a condominium complex fell short, St. Ann's was transformed into an arts center.

The building is free standing and preserves the original red brick structures, redolent of the Civil-War era while incorporating newer structures like Catwalks (latched onto the ceilings). The new structures like catwalks act as symbols of permanence, fusing together both old and new to demonstrate that St. Ann's Warehouse is perceptible to change and able to adapt to newer technologies.

Team 8 get an in depth preview of St. Ann’s newest production and see how the new staging area is installed.

The students will begin to work on the Construction Industry Round Table Competition. They have chosen to upcycle an existing structure. Students visited the site to gain a better understanding of the recycling and upcycling of structures within the built environment. There is an emphasis on reusability and upcycling ingrained into St. Ann's institutional culture which translates neatly to ACE Team 8’s project of upcycling the Eastland Mall in Columbus, OH. Students must consider the surrounding communities’ needs and balance them with the many different proposals (i.e. research facilities, student housing, recreation etc.) to best serve the community.