Imperial's civil engineering students reach new heights at Constructionarium

Nearly one hundred civil engineering students made history last week at the tenth Constructionarium.

The hands-on construction experience is run every year by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Pioneered by Imperial a decade ago, the initiative teaches undergraduates about the design and construction process, giving them a unique opportunity to translate theory and classroom skills into real engineering at a construction site.

Working in teams, the students form their own companies and over the course of a week, they construct scaled down versions of well-known buildings, bridges, dams and other civil engineering projects.

Co-founder of Constructionarium, Alison Ahearn, Principal Teaching Fellow, from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering said: “Constructionarium is a massive field trip with a difference. We take students to a fourteen acre outdoor classroom where they form construction companies and build real things under the supervision of industry. They get to commission big cranes and excavators and they end up with four storey structures and twenty metre bridges.”

Alison Ahearn added: “Constructionarium has changed the perception of engineering education for construction. This is completely different from field trips or work experience and we’re very proud to be celebrating ten years of this pioneering concept.”

This year’s students, all second years, headed off on 16 June for a week at the National Construction College in Bircham Newton, Norfolk, where Constructionarium is based. Industry partners, Morrisroe and Expedition Engineering set students the challenge of constructing mini-versions of the Gherkin, the Millau Viaduct, the Kings Gate Bridge, the entrance to the underground tube station at Naples Airport and a nuclear power station.

Student, Stephen Rose worked on recreating the Gherkin: “We’re building a four storey version of an iconic structure. We need to make sure that it’s absolutely perfect to ensure it meets the quality standards we’ve been set. We had a few problems on the way with our foundations, but we’ve managed to iron them out and save some waste at the same time to catch up and finish on time.”

Every student is assigned a role from Project Manager to Health and Safety Officer to ensure that their building is completed successfully and on time.

Chloe Goulding was assigned as Project Manager for the Naples team: “This is very much a team effort and everyone has a role to play. There have been a few stressful moments as I am responsible for my team but overall it has been really fun.”

Chloe added: “I’d read about Constructionarium before I applied to Imperial and it definitely appealed. Now I’m on the course I know that I will have the theoretical knowledge to be a good engineer as well as invaluable hands-on experience.”

Student Chloe Goulding, Project Manager of the Naples team

A key feature of Constructionarium is that academics, contractors and consultants are all on site to assess the projects and give advice, providing students with a unique opportunity to establish working links with industry.

Structural Engineer, Chris Mills from Expedition Engineering spent the week volunteering at Constructionarium: “I’ve been going round the different projects, acting as the client’s representative and checking that the students are following the client’s brief correctly. This is as real as you can get to being an engineer and I think Constructionarium is brilliant at marrying up the design work that goes on in the office, with work on the ground. Hopefully the students will see that this is a fantastic career choice.”

Student Peter Nugent worked on the construction of the Millau Viaduct: “I’ve never done anything like this before. I want to be a Civil Engineer either in consultancy or contracting and this has given me a real taste of what it’s like. It’s great to be hands on, thinking on the fly and really using your brain.”

Constructionarium was piloted by Imperial, Expedition Engineering and John Doyle Construction ten years ago. Since the College pioneered the concept, Constructionarium Ltd (a not-for-profit company) has been formed to develop the scheme and manage the site for use by more universities. Over twenty other universities have adopted the model including Birmingham, Nottingham and Liverpool.