11 Jun APWA-NC Charity Minigolf Hole Design Charette
Our young (and young-at-heart) professionals have teamed up to design something a little different than our usual neighborhoods, parks, roads, or utilities: a miniature golf course hole! This is no ordinary minigolf attraction, however—this humble hole is made entirely of non-perishable foods. Our hole design will be part of a nine-hole course at this year’s American Public Works Association State Chapter Conference. APWA-NC’s Young Professionals Committee is organizing the charity event, which includes a competition for most creative hole design and a team-based golf tournament to play the improvised holes. All of the food collected for the event will be donated to the Hickory Food Bank.
Our intrepid YPs were undaunted by the challenge of working with canned and boxed goods—in fact, they approached it much like they would any engineering project. They kicked things off with a discussion of available resources, constraints, and goals. Then, through a 30-minute design charette, they created a list of ideas, sketched various concepts, and tested a few basic layouts. After reviewing all of the alternatives, they eliminated any layouts that aren’t feasible due to space and material limitations. Of the remaining options, they chose a design they feel best represents APWA, North Carolina, and WithersRavenel—with a cheeky visual pun thrown in to reflect the YPs’ sense of humor.
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- Assessing the building materials
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- Briefing the design team
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- Collecting precedent images, and an initial sketch
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- Brainstorming in small groups
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- Getting ideas on paper
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- Sharing concepts for review
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- Testing material behavior
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- Translating ideas to reality
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- Tweaking layouts—what if we add a ramp?
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- Pulling it all together with a theme
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- Trial run
Our final minigolf hole design will be set up for display and play at the 2018 APWA-NC State Chapter Conference happening this week at the Hickory Metro Convention Center in Hickory, NC. The conference runs from June 13 through June 15. WithersRavenel is also a conference sponsor—if you’re at the event, stop by our booth (adjacent to the Networking and Lounge Area) and say hello!