Author: Danielle McKenna
Seniors in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering (CaSE) are spending their final year turning classroom knowledge into community-focused engineering designs. The CaSE capstone projects are culminating academic assignments that require teams to address real problems through actionable engineering solutions. The students are divided into two teams according to their major—civil engineering and systems engineering—with both groups working with their designated clients to improve life for Baltimore City residents.
The civil team, which includes Abigail Aranda-Lopez, Wendy Holguin, and Emely Pacheco, is collaborating with Community Law Center (CLC) and Fayette Street Outreach (FSO) on a preservation engineering project at 23 North Smallwood, the site of a vacant rowhome with the front façade as its only standing structure.
The group’s client in this scenario, FSO, provides a community center and neighborhood programs to improve residents’ safety, health, and economic well-being. They are also collaborating with CLC, which acts as a community land trust and revitalizes vacant properties to increase homeownership among city residents.
From left to right: Abigail Aranda-Lopez, Wendy Holguin, Emely Pacheco
After the team’s kickoff meeting with CLC and FSO at the beginning of the year, the students were tasked with designing a stabilization and anchorage system to preserve the existing façade and convert the debris- and tree-filled lot into an open-air performance and dance space that’s accessible to residents. During this design phase, CLC is pursuing land acquisition with the hope of eventually providing a complete rehabilitation so that the space can be restored to a home.
“We met with FSO at the start of the spring semester to ask what they wanted as part of the façade stabilization and foundation design,” said Aranda-Lopez. “In addition to sharing design specifications with us, we found that they really wanted to understand the whole process. That made us begin to think about how things would play out in real-world design development.”
In preparation for developing concept designs, Aranda-Lopez, Holguin, and Pacheco visited the North Smallwood site to complete a condition assessment. Their report concluded that the façade was structurally sound and able to be preserved as part of their final design. With guidance from Professor John Matteo—founder and principal of Matteo Ferran Structural Engineers—the team began collecting site measurements, researching preservation techniques, and building a design matrix to compare several concepts in terms of cost, constructability, feasibility, schedule, aesthetics, and client constraints.
“When we began the project, I was genuinely surprised by how many steps it takes to stabilize a building before it can be used,” said Holguin. “The approach goes beyond engineering. I didn’t think about providing a step-by-step process—from clearing trees in a basement to repointing brick even before reaching the point of building temporary shoring.”
The team’s work has progressed from assessment into preliminary design. In March, they presented a design concept to FSO and are now refining a 3D Fusion model while working through the structural calculations. Their proposed approach includes a reusable shoring system to support the façade, a first-floor platform and foundation system, and a short, protective roof about one-quarter of the length of the house to shelter the shoring system.
The final deliverable package with the group’s condition assessment, drawings, and cost estimates will be usable by contractors and engineering teams should CLC and FSO acquire the land and secure the necessary funding.
“Our client is a nonprofit, so cost matters,” said Pacheco. “Even after we complete our project, CLC will continue to rehabilitate vacant homes, so we’re working towards a sustainable and reusable design that can be used in the preservation of other rowhome façades.”
The team is finalizing their solution in time for Design Day on April 28, where they will present their methods and final designs. The event is open to the public and attendees are asked to register here.