After winning the first place in the competition “Timber-Strong Design Build”, In the United States, a team of students from the Mayagüez University Campus (Rum) of the Puerto Rico University It seeks to boost the value of wood as a sustainable alternative for design and construction on the island, where most structures are erected in concrete or concrete.
“(Puerto Ricans) we have this contradiction and we think that the only thing resistant to earthquakes and hurricanes are concrete buildings. However, With our competition, we break with that barrier of thought; There are other materialities that are suitable for our culture, for our country, which are symorers and, also, hurricane -proof”Said the captain of the team and student of the Department of Civil Engineering and Surveying (Inci), Jackline Ortiz Sanabriain an interview with The new day.
The competition, which was carried out in early March during the Asutheast Student Symposium 2025, in Georgiaconsisted of designing, analyzing, building and assembling a two -level structure in wood at 1: 1 or natural scale, that is, the plane had the same dimensions as the real piece. The Rum team house had a first level of 6×8 feet and a second of 7×8.
The group, consisting of 14 students of the INCI, faced several challenges, among these, the limitation of materials in Puerto Rico, which forced them to use a type of wood other than the “Timber Wood” (treated) required in the competition. They chose to use unrelated wood, because the other type contains a high percentage of moisture and is susceptible to contracting.
“Our climate, in Puerto Rico, is wet and, in the United States, it is very cold. Wood could balance in its properties so as not to have that difficulty if it expands or contracts”Said Ortiz Sanabria, explaining that unrelated wood has a lower moisture concentration, so a lower contraction would be expected if it receives cold.
“Wood constructions have their benefits, since they can structurally be sustainable if the correct structural analysis is performed, either for their wind loads, dead charges and living loads. The same structural analysis for concrete and wood can be performed, and the myth that wood constructions are weaker is broken”, For his part, the also student and cocapitan of the project, Luis Concepción.
He stressed, in turn, that one of the particular characteristics of wood is deflection, that is, the lateral displacement that a structure experiences when force is applied. “Wood can deflect, unlike a concrete or concrete column, which has to be added its rod to have good tension”held.
For the competition, in which 13 universities of FloridaGeorgia and Puerto Rico, the Rum team was divided into four departments or key areas: “Design”, in charge of the project design; Structural analysis, responsible for wind calculations, seismic loads, among others; “Project Management”, which managed to cost costs; and “Documents & Marketing”, in charge of the documentation.
Daisha Pérez Mercadoleader of “Documents & Marketing,” said the structure of the course stood out for its design, which included a balcony. He added that the aesthetics of the house was inspired by The Parguerathe bioluminescent bays of the island and the Tinglar.
During the first semester of this academic year, the students dedicated themselves to studying the rules of the competition and preparing the design, for which they used the Autocad and Revit programs. Meanwhile, in the second semester, they dedicated a full month, from Monday to Sunday, to the construction of the house. Already finished, they used three days to practice assembly.
As the competition was in the United States, The team had to finish their project 30 days in advance, to send it by boat and ensure its arrival on time. One of the rules demanded to mount the house in a maximum of an hour and a halfso the organization was fundamental to fulfill this challenge, the students agreed.
The team – denominated “Timber Strong Design Build UPRM“And assigned to INCI – also won the second place in the” Bim Model “category, after presenting a 3D design of the house using Revit.
“The world of construction is a world that welcomes them (women). We break with that paradigm that it is only a world of men”finally pointed out Ortiz Pérez, highlighting that the team was equitably divided between women and men.