Cal Poly Students’ ‘FlipBlock’ Wins Award

Cal Poly State University students Alex Kiefer and Jacob vanDerRoovaart won the 2015 Student Unit Design Competition with their innovative "FlipBlock" during the National Concrete Masonry Association’s (NCMA’s) Midyear Meeting, August 19 in Montreal.

In this annual NCMA Foundation-sponsored competition, architectural students are challenged with designing a “new” concrete masonry or hardscape unit that can be produced on a block machine or big-board machine.

“Through this process, students learn about the manufacturing process and how to create new block shapes,“ says NCMA Foundation Unit Design Program Chair Frank Werner of Oldcastle Architectural, Inc. “The Foundation has educated more than 3,000 students with this program regarding the design versatility of concrete masonry.  As these young designers continue their education and begin their careers, we want them to keep concrete masonry in the forefront of their works.”

Seven schools participated in the program this year with the top three presenting their block shapes at the Midyear Meeting. In addition to Cal Poly State University, Iowa State University students were awarded second prize and North Carolina State University received third prize.

Click here for more photos of the award winners and participants. To learn more about the annual Student Unit Design Competition, visit the NCMA’s website.