JREC students take on ‘Tiny Office’ project


Janelle Staal of Central City and Nicole Guenther of Wyoming work on building a coffee table. JREC ACE Instructor Chris Caldwell said he’s had females in his class every year the past five years of teaching for Kirkwood. (Photos by Kim Brooks)

This is an inside view of the shipping container that will be turned into an office for the construction firm Rinderknecht Associates. The JREC students are tasked with turning the container into a “Tiny Office.”

Marshall Fowler and Kolby Soper, both of Anamosa, work together on building a wooden bench.

Rinderknecht Associates of Cedar Rapids donated the shipping container and all of the materials needed for the JREC ACE Academy students to turn this container into an office for Rinderknecht’s construction sites.
By: 
Kim Brooks
Express Editor

     Kirkwood’s Jones Regional Education Center ACE Career Academy (Architecture, Construction & Engineering) recently took on a massive project. The students are turning an 8-by-20-foot shipping container into a functioning construction office, termed a “Tiny Office.”

     The class is led by Chris Caldwell, who’s been overseeing the work by the students. The shipping container was donated by Rinderknecht Associates, a construction firm in Cedar Rapids. The finished product will also be used by the company at various job sites.

     The students started the project three weeks ago. This is the first year the JREC has had the opportunity to take on a major project like this.

     “They (Rinderknecht) is paying for all of the materials,” said Caldwell, including lumber, insulation, electrical parts, and other various supplies.

     Caldwell said his 11 students started building the walls, installing the electrical outlets, and running the wiring to the electrical boxes. The project is on hold for a few days, waiting for a licensed electrician to complete the electrical work.

     The students will also lay the flooring, what Caldwell terms an industrial vinyl product.

     An air conditioning unit will also be installed, as well as lighting. The door and window were put in place before the shipping container arrived at JREC.

     The students are spending six hours a week, their class time, working on the project.

     “They all work well together,” praised Caldwell.

     The goal is to have the office completed by the end of October.

     Caldwell said a project like this gives the students a taste for residential construction, should any of them choose to pursue that avenue of work.

     “The classroom work covers a lot,” explained Caldwell, highlighting masonry work and house framing, too. “We show all aspects of construction.”

     He said a wide array of construction tools were also introduced to the students in the beginning.

     “Some have had little to no power tool experience,” shared Caldwell.

     During the class period on Oct. 4, the students were busy making coffee tables and benches. Caldwell said they also made their own sawhorses to use during the class as well. Since school started at JREC, these students have certainly grown accustomed to using the tools and equipment.

     With two females in Caldwell’s current ACE Academy, he said in his five years as an adjunct instructor for Kirkwood, he’s had at least one female in every class.

     Aside from the project JREC students are taking on, other Kirkwood regional centers have taken on similar projects such as a Tiny House. Caldwell said the ACE program at the main Kirkwood campus constructed a six-piece home and assembled it later for Habitat for Humanity. Today, it’s occupied by a family on First Avenue in Cedar Rapids.

     “These students are our future workforce,” boasted Caldwell.

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