Interior design, construction management and design engineering technology students from Weber State University participated in an annual design competition last weekend.

For the fourth year in a row, students were given 48 hours to come up with a design for the project and present their results.

This year, students worked together to design a women’s community center and a police station for a town in Peru.

Jeremy Farner, a design engineering technology professor, said that in this year’s competition the organizers wanted an idea students could make a reality.

“The first (competition project) was temporary housing for victims of the Haiti earthquakes, the second was renovation of the historic Ben Lomond Hotel downtown (and) last year was the cultural center for the Timbisha tribe in Death Valley,” Farner said. “And this year we wanted to have a project the students could actually build if they chose to in a service learning study abroad we will be doing next May to Peru.”

Weber State and Juan Mejia Baca University in Chiclayo, Peru, partnered to develop the concept for this years charrette competition. The main goal was to design projects that would benefit Peruvian citizens.

Among the many needs discussed, the students were to choose two in order to come up with an idea. The town’s police force is operating without a finished police structure, so the police station was one of the finalized ideas.

“The government is now threatening to pull enforcement funding if they do not find a way to finish the building.” Farner said. “The police force helps keep the city peaceful. Our task is to complete this building and contribute to the continued strides toward a safe community for this area.”

In addition to the police station, students also designed a women’s center that incorporates Peruvian culture and customs and a day care center that would be located inside the women’s center.

Students were assigned teams and given instruction on Thursday afternoon. They had until Saturday afternoon to complete their designs, a video presentation and presentation board.

Seven teams competed in the women’s center category, while six teams competed in the community day care category. At an awards ceremony Saturday night, the first and second place teams in each category were honored.

“Having the opportunity to experience team dynamics that foster creative thinking is a valuable learning experience,” said interior design professor Kristen Arnold. “In addition, they have the added bonus of working on a project with a service focus that benefits other cultures.”

The police station category was not judged on Saturday with the other competitions, as the students required more time to complete their designs.