“The Bullard Project,” a Complex Carbon Capture Solution, Takes Home First Place for Florida Students in CIRT’s 19th Annual National Design + Construction Competition
- May 1
- 3 min read
Updated: 24 hours ago
The student team from ACE Mentor Program of Northeast Florida pulled off a rarely seen feat by claiming first place in the Construction Industry Round Table (CIRT) National Design + Construction Competition for the second year in a row. This time, a different group of students and mentors from the same ACE Mentor Program of America Affiliate were able to claim the $5,000 top prize with their submission in the Carbon Capture category called “The Bullard Project.” The student entry envisioned an advanced photobioreactor (PBR) decarbonization system in which microalgae capture carbon to reduce an Atlanta powerplant’s emissions by 7% -- or approximately 2.95 million metric tons of CO2 to be captured per year (the calculations of which were tested and its feasibility confirmed by a juror – a professional in the industry). The design also proposed a phased-in deployment of the recapture system to generate income to offset the later steps in the project. The revenues arising from the system’s various methods for a full circle management of resources and plant biproducts.
Three “Worthy Finalist” teams competed in the presentations round before a live audience and five judges to vie for top honors. The 19th annual competition was part of the CIRT’s spring conference held in Washington, D.C. The finalist teams survived a grueling preliminary round that included 74 total entries – a record shattering number – from 27 ACE Mentor Program of America Affiliates across 19 states and D.C. The presentations were made to a distinguished panel of judges headed by JJ Suarez (CSA Group) as the honorary “Thornton Chair”, [named for the late ACE Mentor Program founder, Charlie Thornton]; and CIRT members Adam Jelen (Gilbane Building Company), Mara Johnston, (Amaracon, Keystone Global), Dilip Choudhuri (Walter P. Moore), and Tom Donnelly (ACE Mentor Program of America).
After carefully analyzing the presentations as well as the underlying entry’s design/construction approaches within the project’s objectives, the 5-judge panel balanced the outcome based on the two major elements: quality of presentation and competence of the overall entry.
The order of finish for the competition was:
1st Place and a prize of $5,000 went to: ACE Mentor Program of Northeast Florida, National Team 2, for their Carbon Capture entry “The Bullard Project.”
2nd Place and a prize of $3,000 went to: ACE Mentor Program Paso del Norte, Windflower Architects, for their ideal school entry "Ruby Bridges High School"; and
3rd Place and a prize of $2,000 went to: ACE Mentor Program of Seattle, Tuesday Team 2, for their Multi-Modal Transportation Hub entry “The Tacoma Transit Tapestry.”
Six other teams were also recognized in the 2025 competition as either First Runner-Up ($1,000 prize) or Second Runner-Up ($500 prize) in each of the three different design challenges or options. Among this elite group were:
First Runners-Up:
ACE Mentor Program of Connecticut, Team 1 for their entry "The New Port Authority"
ACE Mentor Program Houston, Maple Lead for their entry "Bow River High School"
ACE Mentor Program of Tampa, Team TBT for their entry "MC3: Maritime Carbon Capture Container"
Second Runners-Up:
ACE Mentor Program of Greater NY, ACE Team 8 - DDC/SCA for their entry "The Key"
ACE Mentor Program of Illinois, ACE Chicago Team 4 for their entry "Rebirth of the Phoenix"
ACE Mentor Inland Empire, Biochar Bulldogs for their entry "Tera Capture"
The CIRT National Design & Construction Competition is a collaborative effort with the ACE Mentor Program of America.
2025 National CIRT Design + Construction Competition Photos
Click to expand; Photos available for download.
Photos by Skip Rowland Photography
