Victoria University of Wellington students win $10,000 scholarship
Two Victoria University of Wellington Master of Architecture students have each received a $10,000 scholarship from the New Zealand Institute of Building (NZIOB) Charitable
Emma Fell and Mikayla Heesterman were awarded the scholarship at the NZIOB Awards for Excellence dinner in Auckland in August.
This scholarship, now in its second year, recognises, encourages, and financially supports recipients pursuing research projects related to building. The scholarship is open to those in trades, technical or professional roles.
Emma Fell received the scholarship for her research into the development of a new prefabricated building system. She plans to use the money to build a prototype of her system for testing. She hopes that her optimised design and construction process will lead to a reduction in overall construction time and costs.
Mikayla Heesterman received the scholarship for her work on creating sustainable timber-based connections for buildings. Currently, timber-based connections are time-consuming and difficult to make, but they are also structurally successful and aesthetically pleasing. Mikayla plans to develop a database of new construction designs that can be efficiently made through robotic milling, making complex designs easy to create.
Gina Jones, Chair of the NZIOB Charitable Trust, says the scholarship aims to encourage “aspirational thinking that has the potential to advance the design, construction, or management of buildings in New Zealand and enhance the quality of our built environment”.
The New Zealand Institute of Building Charitable Trust was established in 1985 to give scholarships, prizes, and other awards to encourage the study of building and encourage innovations in the building industry.