{"id":2776,"date":"2023-06-15T23:00:08","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T06:00:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/?p=2776"},"modified":"2023-08-20T14:35:28","modified_gmt":"2023-08-20T21:35:28","slug":"monterey-county-weekly-rancho-cielo-construction-students-set-to-compete-in-an-international-sustainability-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/ocsd23\/monterey-county-weekly-rancho-cielo-construction-students-set-to-compete-in-an-international-sustainability-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"Monterey County Weekly: Rancho Cielo Construction Students Set to Compete in an International Sustainability Competition"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"2776\" class=\"elementor elementor-2776\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-426309d elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"426309d\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-4123d6e\" data-id=\"4123d6e\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e2fc22c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e2fc22c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.16.0 - 09-10-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\" data-pm-slice=\"1 1 []\" data-en-clipboard=\"true\"><p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2777 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/648a17385cfe0.image_-300x225.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/648a17385cfe0.image_-300x225.jpg 300w, https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/648a17385cfe0.image_-768x576.jpg 768w, https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/648a17385cfe0.image_.jpg 1000w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/p><p><span style=\"color: #444444;\">In every Cinderella story there is tension: Will the hero rise from the ashes and win it all? Rancho Cielo construction students and their mentors are living that story every day between now and October. The Rancho Cielo Construction Academy was selected for this year\u2019s inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon, an international home building competition that attracts teams of students from top universities. It\u2019s the first time a vocational school has been selected to participate.<\/span><span style=\"font-family: var( --e-global-typography-text-font-family ), Sans-serif; text-align: var(--bs-body-text-align); background-color: var(--bs-body-bg);\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">The young adult students, between ages 16-24 \u2013 most coming from low-income neighborhoods and some of whom were diverted from jail time or didn\u2019t graduate from high school \u2013 have in a sense already won. As one of 15 teams chosen to compete it comes with a $100,000 grant toward construction of the modular home, which the academy has dubbed Nexus 01.<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">\u201cWe think they\u2019re the greatest story,\u201d says Fred Smoller, the decathlon\u2019s CEO, on why they chose Rancho Cielo\u2019s team. While the competition has a sustainability focus, workforce development is also crucial for the future of the industry, Smoller says.<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">What followed after receiving the grant last year was a fundraising effort led by Rancho Cielo founder John Phillips to raise an additional $400,000 in cash and materials to build the two-story, 750-foot unit. It was designed by architect and tiny house expert Thomas Rettenwender of EcoLogic Architects, who serves on the academy\u2019s construction advisory committee and suggested they enter the competition.<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">\u201cWe have not made it easy on ourselves. We\u2019ve been very ambitious when it comes to design,\u201d says Rettenwender. \u201cIt\u2019s quite elaborate, carefully designed with all the bells and whistles with all the latest in sustainable building materials.\u201d<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">The Nexus 01 team was provided with high-end sustainable construction products donated by local companies like Hayward Lumber, Scudder Roofing and Solar, among others, and are being mentored by experts in the building trades.<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">The team must fully construct the house on campus in Salinas then take it apart to be trucked in pieces to the Orange County Fair and Event Center in September. A team of 12 students and their instructors will spend more than 30 days in Orange County, reconstructing the house in time for the competition that begins Oct. 5, during which they\u2019ll show it off to judges and the public, complete with a marketing plan for potential buyers.<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">While marketing is a new challenge for the Rancho Cielo students, the team isn\u2019t worried about construction. \u201cWe have a leg up on the design and construction piece,\u201d says Joseph DeRuosi Jr., Rancho Cielo\u2019s director of College &amp; Career Transitions. \u201c[The college students] have the challenge to build, where our students build every day.\u201d<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\"><span style=\"color: #444444;\">When the competition is over, students will disassemble the house and it will return to Rancho Cielo to become part of a small village of homes that will serve as staff housing. The plan is to construct and sell more modular units (<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/nexushousing.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nexushousing.org<\/a><span style=\"color: #444444;\">), all while teaching students skills they can use in future careers, a key part of Rancho Cielo\u2019s mission.<\/span><\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">\u00a0<\/div><div style=\"caret-color: #000000; color: #000000;\">The public has an opportunity to see the team\u2019s progress at an open house, 4:30-6:30pm, Tuesday, June 20 at Rancho Cielo, 710 Old Stage Road, Salinas.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In every Cinderella story there is tension: Will the hero rise from the ashes and win it all? Rancho Cielo construction students and their mentors are living that story every day between now and October. The Rancho Cielo Construction Academy was selected for this year\u2019s inaugural Orange County Sustainability Decathlon, an international home building competition [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":2777,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_vp_custom_popup_image":0,"_vp_format_audio_url":"","_vp_custom_thumbnail":0,"_vp_custom_thumbnail_focal_point":[],"_vp_hover_thumbnail":0,"_vp_hover_thumbnail_focal_point":[]},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2776"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2776"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2776\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2781,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2776\/revisions\/2781"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2777"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2776"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2776"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocsd23.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2776"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}