A M King Awards Auburn University First Place in ASC’s 2025 Design-Build Competition
It was a dual dilemma at The Associated Schools of Construction’s (ASC) Region 2 Design-Build Competition on Nov. 11. For the third year in a row, the six-member team from Auburn University solved the intricate challenge posed by sponsor A M King. Itwas the sixth time that A M King provided the project for the Design-Build portion of ASC’s five-part, Integrated Project (IP) Delivery competition.
This year, 44 teams comprised of more than 300 students from 18 universities competed in seven categories: Design-Build, Concrete, Preconstruction, Graduate, Commercial, Heavy Civil, and Alternate Leadership. Twenty-three industry partners participated in the career fair, which was followed by the student competitions and an award ceremony recognizing the top schools for each problem category.
ASC Design-Build Competition Background
In the Design-Build Competition, 42 students from seven schools — Appalachian State University, Auburn University, Mississippi State University, University of Florida, Georgia Tech, University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez, and Virginia Tech — took on the pseudo role of Design-Builder in constructing a new facility for MÜNZING, a global specialty additives supplier based in Abstatt, Germany. The building was to serve as both the company’s U.S. headquarters and support the expansion of the company’s food-grade and non-food-grade additives business.
“The Design-Build competition provides a unique opportunity for Region 2 universities to bring together interdisciplinary teams of students from programs such as construction management, architecture, interior design, and civil engineering,” explained John Hildreth, PhD, PE, ASC Region 2 Director. “The teams gain valuable exposure to the realities and challenges of a real-world project. They worked very hard, but also demonstrated their creativity, technical, and professional skills in a fun and competitive environment. The A M King team did a tremendous job this year – as they always do – and the students really appreciate the opportunity to engage with them.”
“It was a pleasure to host the Design-Build competition this year and continue our support of ASC,” says Andre Harris, A M King Vice President. “We were tremendously pleased with the universities’ student knowledge base, attention to detail, and creativity in preparing the Design-Build projects. The evaluation process was fairly tough in that all the presentations had to meet certain criteria, while demonstrating individuality. We are excited to welcome these students into the industry and eagerly anticipate the resulting advances that will come from their contributions.”
“A M King was honored to participate in the ASC Region 2 Design-Build Competition,” says Catherine Knight, AIA, and A M King Design Leader. “The talent, quality and professionalism exhibited by the student teams was incredible. These students represent the very best and brightest of the region and future AEC professionals. The level of care and thoughtfulness these teams brought to the competition made our job as judges incredibly difficult and the deliverables they create in the competition timeframe each year are astounding. We are grateful to the student teams and their participation in the Design-Build competition and look forward to providing our support in future years.”
Project Scope and Requirements
The battle began with each team receiving a congratulatory letter from A M King announcing their prequalification to bid on a on a new manufacturing and food processing facility in Clover, SC. The project scope contained development of a portion of a 105-acre site and former tree farm, 14 of which could be used for the facility; 71,000 sf subdivided into warehouse, processing and office space; 10 loading dock positions; and 60 employee and visitor parking spaces. Participants were thrown several curveballs related to this complex assignment.
The greatest challenges for the participants included design and construction of both food- and non-food-grade processing areas; accommodation for hazardous/flammable product storage and production; and strategic placement of the testing laboratory, tanker unloading area and utility building. They also needed to accommodate 10,000 square feet of class A corporate office space and employee welfare areas. The final twist was an addendum to create a freestanding, onsite R&D office and lab building with employee welfare spaces.
Each team took this information and then developed plans to comply with the specified requirements. They communicated their plans of action to the judges through written submissions and in-person presentations.
Design-Build Competition Winners
Auburn University, First Place winner for the third year in a row, included Tigers Seth Aude (team lead and returning ASC competitor), Sara Coultress, Liz Campbell, Kevin Reilly, Hannah Stratton and Ben Woods. Their coach is Senior Lecturer Bob Muir, Ph.D. The team scored high marks for their exceptional renderings and exhibits, taking inspiration for their design from MÜNZING’s German headquarters. The team went the extra mile by performing solar studies to calculate heat gain, identifying MÜNZING’s competitors in the nearby area of Clover, and perfectly articulating their process of se analysis.
Virginia Tech, Second Place winner, included students Daniel Bassey (team lead), Shriya Agrawal, Neharika Gupta, Georgi Wnnyk, Ian Anderson, and Tyler Herrick. Their coach is Adjunct Professor of Practice, William T. Thumm. They were the only team to incorporate an innovative application for the project — robotic site monitoring that would allow the client to have a 24/7 live dashboard of the site, a live model of all construction progress, and a final model post construction to use for maintenance and renovation.
University of Florida, Third Place winner, included Carson Cooper (team lead), Kaylee Jordan, Mia Bilka, Parker Loftin, Yasmin Figueroa, and Jyslen Archer. Their coach is Instructional Assistant Professor Russell C. Walters, Ph.D. The team utilized the MÜNZING logo as the basis for the design of their building, provided a LEED v5 score card for the project, and incorporated multiple employee welfare spaces, including a gym and dedicated outdoor spaces.
A M King’s Team and Commitment
A M King team members who participated in the competition were Andre Harris, Vice President; Catherine Knight, Design Leader; Charlie Martin, Project Manager; and Sarah Smith, Marketing Manager.
“A M King is committed to supporting and partnering with select universities in furthering design and construction education,” says Dan Crist, A M King President. “We look forward to continuing our relationship with the ASC sponsors, faculty and students.”
A M King is an integrated Design-Build firm based in Charlotte, NC with offices in Greenville, SC and Chicago, IL. An employee-owned company, A M King consistently and successfully delivers quality projects throughout the United States. With an experienced team committed to protecting clients’ assets, the firm provides property consulting, design, construction, and facility services in key market sectors including food processing, food distribution, industrial manufacturing, and corporate properties.
The Associated Schools of Construction (ASC) is the professional association of construction educators and industry practitioners working together for the development and advancement of construction education. The ASC is made up of nine regions: seven regions covering the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and two international regions covering Europe and Oceania/Asia/Africa. Region 2 covers eight southeastern U.S. states and Puerto Rico.
