Student Competition 2021

We are truly excited to welcome all teams to Birmingham City University (BCU) for the 9th ASC Region 8 International Student Competition!

Date: competition activities will take place in the week commencing 8th November 2021, more details to follow.

Venue: the competition venues will be at the City Centre Campus of BCU and the AutoDesk Birmingham office (https://www.autodesk.com/technology-centers/birmingham-uk)

Key Details

The competition will again have two tracks to it:

  1. The International CM / QS (Estimating) competition; and
  2. The International Design / Build competition.

Once again, we are extremely grateful for the continued financial support that Autodesk and PlanGrid provides to the competitions.

If you have any questions please contact the Regional Director Mark Shelbourn at mark.shelbourn@bcu.ac.uk

Looking forward to seeing you all in Birmingham in November 2021.

We are truly excited to welcome all teams to Birmingham City University (BCU) for the 9th ASC Region 8 International Student Competition! Some of you will be participating physically, some of you virtually, whichever you choose I hope it will be a joyful as well as challenging experience.

Date: competition activities will take place on the 11th and 12th November 2021. For the Design and Build competition there will be some preparatory work to be completed prior to the event on the 11th November. Details of this will be released to those registering for that track of the competition.

Venue: the competition venues will be at the City Centre Campus of BCU (https://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/maps-and-campuses)

Key Details

The competition will again have two tracks to it:

  1. The International CM / QS (Estimating) competition; and
  2. The International Design / Build competition.

Once again, we are extremely grateful for the continued financial support that Autodesk and PlanGrid provides to the competitions.

International CM / QS (estimating) competition

This year the project is being sponsored by John Sisk Ltd. John Sisk is an innovative, international, engineering and construction company that has been operating since 1859. They have a track record of scale and capacity to successfully undertake large, complex, multidisciplinary programmes and are recognised by their global clients as world leaders in safe delivery. The project is located at St John’s Hill (London, UK), which is part of three-phase regeneration project that aims to increase number of affordable homes and establish new community centre by 2022.

International Design / Build competition

This year the project is being sponsored by the Housing Association Midland Heart.

The project will entail the design and build of Net-zero carbon Future Homes, based loosely on the Future Homes standard demonstrator. Students will be required to propose an alternative carbon neutral solution using off-site construction. You are likely to be asked to consider:

  • Proposed designs with justification of net-zero carbon measures (passive + active solutions)
  • Specification of materials and technologies selected
  • Description of the appropriate methods or processes to be used in implementing your proposed technologies.

Looking forward to seeing you all in Birmingham in November 2021.

If you have any questions please contact the Regional Director Mark Shelbourn at mark.shelbourn@bcu.ac.uk

REGULATIONS AND ENTRY CONDITIONS

Please see our dedicated rules page here. It is essential that returning teams read these rules very carefully as they have been significantly updated to take account of the format and delivery of the double-track competition. For example, the CM/QS (Estimating) track still permits a maximum of four students; but to take account of the broad theme, the Design/Build track will permit up to six student team members to participate.

Please also note that, in a change to our regulations for this year, we are now permitting students from a single institution to form up to THREE teams across both strands of the competition. This rule change was agreed at our summer Regional Meeting, and recognises the benefit of accommodating the growing number of international partnerships our members have established.

JUDGING PANELS

The judging panels consist of a highly impressive range of senior figures from local, regional, and international brands from the sponsoring project organisations. 

REGISTRATION

Please complete and return the appropriate form to Mark Shelbourn (mark.shelbourn@bcu.ac.uk) by Monday 1st November 2021.

For the CM/QS (Estimating) competition track, please use this form:

http://region8.ascweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ASC-Region-8-Competition-registration-2021-CM-QS.docx

For the D&B competition track, please use this form:

http://region8.ascweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/ASC-Region-8-Competition-registration-2021-DB.docx

PROVISIONAL ITINERARY

As is now established tradition, the event will commence with an optional social for all teams on Wednesday November 10th with the competition proper requiring all teams in lock-down on Thursday and presenting their solutions on Friday. We will conclude with a final night results presentation and celebration on that evening.

RECOMMENDED ACCOMMODATION

The city of Birmingham is a busy highly popular destinations, with a great deal of accommodation to suit all budgets available in the city centre, and several hotels close to the university campus. The campus is easily accessible via public transport.

The most convenient hotel that is reasonably priced we would suggest the Clayton Hotel (https://www.claytonhotelbirmingham.com/).

FURTHER INFORMATION

  • Transportation

Public transportation to, from, and within the West Midlands is regarded as safe, but care is advised with taxi/cabs which can over-charge and bring you on “longer” distance routes to your location.

Our recommendation for transport from the airport to Birmingham city centres is the train. There is a direct train from the airport to the city, it takes approximately 15 minutes.

Of course, there is the UBER service available to take you around the sights of Birmingham. You could also take this service from the airport to your accommodation.

Details on BCU campus and travel to and from it can be found here: https://www.bcu.ac.uk/about-us/maps-and-campuses

  • Crime/Security

The central area of Birmingham is not associated with high crime. We do recommend that you take the usual precautions that you would in a major city; for example, when using ATMs to take out cash. We recommend that students travel in pairs and adopt a companion system to ensure group safety.

  • And finally…

As ever, one of the great joys of the International Student Competition is to introduce you to a new city. Please follow the link below for more information on the history and heritage of Birmingham. It is bursting with possibilities for a fulfilling stay! https://visitbirmingham.com/