Lethbridge College Home Design Expo showcases work of engineering students

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on May 5, 2022.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman First-year Engineering Design Technology students Peter Harris and Chad Brent showcase their winter semester home design project during the Lethbridge College Home Design Expo Wednesday at the college's E.C. Fredericks Theatre.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Lethbridge College’s first-year Engineering Design Technology students had the opportunity to showcase what they have been working on during the Home Design Expo Wednesday.
EDT instructor Bill Smienk said the four presenting students volunteered for the task which meant extra work for them but also extra learning.
“They were provided with some additional instruction to really enhance their 3D projects, and basically they committed to the extra time that it would take to do the presentations over and above what they would normally do beyond their regular project,” said Smienk.
For the home design presentations students were teamed up in pairs, one of the teams consisted of Peter Harris and Chad Brent, who during their presentation admitted he added a deck to their design last minute.
During their presentation Harris explained that the reason for needing a deck became really obvious when it was pointed out they had a huge staircase going from the back door to ground level and Brent added one just in time for the presentation.
“We were trying to stay away from it, and I was just looking at it for presentation getting all those renderings ready and I was like ‘I think we need a deck, most houses have a deck, most people want a deck… this is what I’m going to do’,” said Brent.
During their presentation they showcased the steps they took to create their home design, from creating the blueprints to creating a 3D model of the house on a lot, to actually building a scaled prototype of their design.
“I feel like I’ve learned some very useful things and I feel really confident going and taking what I’ve learned here and applying it to things that are legitimate industry projects,” said Harris.
Smienk said the EDT program like other Engineering Technology programs at Lethbridge College, is trying to prepare graduates for future careers.
“A lot of the engineering architectural offices here in the city have graduates that are part of the program, so we’re just very excited to see them going out and coming up with skills that they need to be successful,” said Smienk.
For more information on Engineering Technology programs visit http://www.lethbridgecollege.ca

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