Awarding innovative metal design

By Jessica Bravo.  

The MBMA is shaping the future of construction through metal building education with their student competition. 

In a MetalCast™ podcast episode, Megan Ellsworth sat down with Metal Building Manufacturers Association's (MBMA) General Manager, Tony Bouquot, and Chair of the Education Committee, John Underwood, to discuss the purpose of the Metal Building Student Competition, a design competition for students in the architectural field.   

As metal continues to gain popularity in the construction industry, it's important to think about how it can be used in innovative ways—pushing the boundaries of what designers can achieve with metal materials. Tony and John emphasized the importance of education in this sector, noting that this competition was created to showcase the possibilities and potential of metal construction. 

When asked about the primary goal of the student competition, John explained, “One of the things we’ve done over the years is conduct perception surveys of our industry. We found that many architects didn’t fully understand the capabilities of metal buildings in today’s world.” The lack of awareness about the versatility of metal buildings was a key motivation for John. He wanted future architects to move beyond the image of metal buildings as just warehouses or industrial structures, which is a shift that the education committee has been actively working toward. 

Tony supported this idea, stating that the competition’s primary goal is education. He explained, “It's about showing versatility in all the different ways a metal building can be used. It's really about the metal building, the bones of the building, the metal building system.” 

John added, “Investigate what metal buildings can do in the marketplace in terms of serving the clients and customers. Let them see through the expansion of what metal buildings can do and what they can be used for.”  

Ultimately, the competition aims to shape the future of construction by providing education and promoting a deeper understanding of metal buildings. By supplying future architects with this knowledge, the industry can expect greater success and innovation in metal building design. 

Read the transcript, Listen to the entire episode or Watch the recording to learn how the competition is shaping the future of metal building design.