Supporting the Sustainable Designs of the Future

Building a sustainable future and supporting the next generation of professionals are core beliefs of our practice. Ballinger has been a longtime sponsor of Future City Philadelphia, an educational engineering program for middle-school students. Part of a national initiative to engage young people in STEM, DiscoverE Future City asks students to imagine, research, design, and build cities of the future. The work culminates in an event judged by industry professionals. This year, judges and teams gathered at Archbishop Carroll High School to listen to the budding engineers present their cities, which were designed to fit the theme “Electrify Your Future.” 

Principal Sara Ridenour, AIA and Associate Principal Steve Miller, PE served as judges for Ballinger’s “Net Zero Carbon Design Award,” which was presented to St. Andrew School of Drexel Hill for their city, New Colorado Springs. “This team had a great design,” said Steve, “Their use of mass timber to help reduce embodied carbon gave them a competitive edge.”