JREC students complete tiny office project

Published by admin on Wed, 05/09/2018 - 11:09am

Kirkwood students with the ACE Career Academy and staff take part in a ribbon-cutting event on May 3 with representatives from Rinderknecht. The class built a tiny office out of a shipping container. Front row from left are Scott Pantel, VP marketing, with Rinderknecht; Craig Stadtmueller; Peyton Rupp; Ryan Ruppel; instructor Chris Caldwell cutting the ribbon; Jacob Bachelder; Connor Conlin; Nicole Guenther; Janelle Staal; and Marshall Fowler. Back row, Garron Barber, Sebastain Diaz, CarterMohr, and Colby Soper. (Photos by Kim Brooks)

Students Sebastian Diaz, Connor Conlin, Ryan Ruppel, Carter Mohr, and Nicole Guenther show off the finished product inside the tiny office. The unveiling was held on May 3. The unit will be seen in downtown Cedar Rapids at a new construction project for Rinderknecht.
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     All their hard work has paid off.

     On May 3, students in Kirkwood’s Jones Regional Education Center ACE Career Academy (Architecture, Construction & Engineering) held a ribbon cutting on a months-long project: a tiny office.

     Last fall, Rinderknecht Associates, Inc. in Cedar Rapids dropped off an 8-by-20-foot shipping container. The idea was to have the students turn the container into a tiny office that the company can use at construction sites. This particular office will be on display at Rinderknecht’s newest project in downtown Cedar Rapids, construction of the Harris Public Health and Youth Development Services building.

     JREC Career Development Coordinator Craig Stadtmueller said this would give the students pride in seeing their project in busy downtown Cedar Rapids.

     “This was a nice size project for a class like this,” said Lisa Folken, JREC director.

     The 11 students showed off their work on May 3 to representatives from Rinderknecht. The academy is led by teacher Chris Caldwell.

     Folken said the goal with the academy is to allow the students to gain some hands-on experience. This project certainly allowed them to do that.

     “Hopefully they gained some great skills and reinforced whether or not they want to go into a field like this,” she said.

     Caldwell told the students that jobs in the construction industry never cease to exist. “There’s always something to be built,” he said. “Technology is improving and there are high-dollar jobs in this industry. It’s a growing field.”

     The students spent half of the school year working on the tiny office project, which was stored outside behind the Kirkwood facility. They started building the walls, installing the electrical outlets, flooring, and window frames.

     The office is also equipped with heating and air conditioning.

     Student Ryan Ruppel, a junior at Anamosa High School, even designed a built a 4-foot tall drafting table to be used inside the office.

     Caldwell told the Rinderknecht representatives that the students were introduced to various construction tools some have never used before.

     When the students were not working on the tiny office project, they designed and built smaller projects such as wooden coffee tables, benches, and lounge chairs.

 

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