For several years now, the prefabricated concrete industry has been on a mission to educate the next generation of designers about the aesthetic and structural versatility, durability and longevity of precast, a trusted building system that’s been utilized for over 70 years.
Through the orchestrated efforts of The Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute (PCI) and multiple precast manufacturers across the country, we’re creating meaningful learning opportunities right in our own communities.
From organized site tours and university sponsorships to internships, engineering development programs, and various student-engaging activities, we’re providing students with a rounded understanding of the advantages of designing with prefabrication and how it can be used in the built environment around them.
By investing in future architects and engineers at a local level, we’re strengthening the very communities where these students live and work. In the process, we’re helping them develop teamwork, problem-solving, and practical design skills.
We’re also exposing them to real-world applications, supporting experiential learning, and showing them how partnerships can bridge the gap between theoretical education and practical industry skills.
Project Precast
Case in point – each year, the PCI Foundation-sponsored Project Precast successfully attracts some of the brightest design minds from universities nationwide in an annual design competition.
Over several days, eight four-person teams – each sponsored by a precast producer – design creative precast solutions for hypothetical projects under tight deadlines, with the overriding goal of introducing students to the varied uses of precast/prestressed concrete and showcasing the value of design-assist.
Teams from Project Precast 2025
It's a highly selective program whereby participants are chosen by their sponsors, who cover their travel, lodging, and meals.
During the competition, they use the knowledge they’ve gained in the classroom, calling upon sponsor experts for help scoping out many of the accessories used in the precast design. A precast sponsor works directly with them as a mentor and coach throughout the process.
I had the incredible opportunity to be part of Project Precast as one of the coaches, working closely with a team to guide them through the design process and provide insight into real-world precast applications. It’s inspiring to see how quickly the students adapted, collaborated, and developed innovative solutions under pressure.
They create sketches, perform calculations, and creatively develop visual flythroughs and fly-bys, culminating in each team presenting their designs to an audience comprised of PCI members.
The winning teams receive cash prizes for their innovative approach to precast design. The positive response to the program has been overwhelming, with the quality and quantity of applications increasing each year.
Gate Precast's Project Precast 2025 team
Wells' Project Precast 2025 team
PCI Precast Studios
Expanding beyond competitions like Project Precast, we’re also investing in long-term educational initiatives through PCI Precast Studios.
These studios are collaborative education opportunities developed with leading universities with architectural and structural engineering programs. They receive start-up funding grants from the PCI Foundation and are supported by regional PCI associations and local precast manufacturers.
These programs provide students with hands-on experience and direct exposure to precast applications, helping to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world design and construction.
Presentations at UW-Milwaukee's PCI-sponsored Precast Studio. Precast professionals and local architects attend to provide feedback on final presentations.
Wells and Gate Precast currently engage with over 20 higher education institutions nationwide, providing tours, education, and sponsorships, including precast studios with these universities.
Other Ways We're Connecting
It’s a fact – if students aren’t exposed to precast claddings and structures, they’re far less likely to incorporate them in their designs as professionals. That’s why we actively engage with local university architecture and engineering programs, offering manufacturing tours and other that provide behind-the-scenes and hands-on learning experiences.
These and other initiatives have had an undeniable impact, and I’ve been encouraged by the recent growth of prefabricated structures and facades in industries like governmental buildings to churches, museums, healthcare, prisons and educational facilities.
And given their growing longevity and versatility, these structures are being designed with a long-term mindset – not just for our use but for generations to come.
About the Author: Russ Vines is the Vice President of Engineering - Architectural Systems at GATE Precast in North Little Rock, Ark., and is a Gate Precast team coach for Project Precast. In July 2024, Gate Precast joined the Wells family.
