Architecture and Construction Students Inspect a Building Rehab
June 3, 2019
FSC students and EW Howell staff
When associate professor and chair of the Department of Architecture and Construction Management, Orla LoPiccolo, wanted to take her students on a construction site visit, she called her long-time colleagues at EW Howell Construction Group. They’ve given site tours of the MART building at Stony Brook University and an assisted living facility in Woodbury over the last two years, and this time they brought Professor LoPiccolo and company back to Stony Brook, to inspect a “gut rehab” of the student union building.
By all accounts, the tour was a hit with the four students who attended: Liam Callan ’19, Farheen Hyder ’20, Gideon Sherry ’20 – Architectural Engineering Technology students – and Wilber Ortez ’22, who is studying Construction Management Engineering.
Matthew Palladino ’10, Project Manager; Scott Erickson, Superintendent; Robert Isbit, Project Manager; and Dylan Biggs, Site Safety Manager, provided a site safety training session and a thorough site tour of this construction site. The EW Howell staff engaged in detailed discussions with the students at each stop along the tour, entertained questions, provided lunch, and best of all, encouraged the students to apply for jobs and internships at the company. According to Professor LoPiccolo, “the process captivated the students.”
“It’s always refreshing to be able to physically see things put together that get drawn back at a desk,” said Gideon. “The project had a lot of different components that had to work together, and it helped me take mental notes now for solutions and ideas that may help me in the future.”
Farheen added: “By going to the site, we see everything first hand. We can see what kind of work really goes into a building. The experience in the field is very eye opening.”
Professor LoPiccolo summed up the experience.
“Getting out on site is such a vital component of educating future architects and construction managers, and I am forever grateful for the willingness of willingness of Howard Rowland, President, Paul O’Rourke, Executive Vice President/COO, Matthew Palladino, and all of the EW Howell staff to help me meet this goal for our students. Site tour, question-and-answer sessions, encouragement from seasoned construction professionals, and lunch – who could ask for a more perfect experience for our architectural and construction management students!”
