By Features Editor Noelle Kirkman

Students can expect to find creativity in the music hall or the ceramics room, but there’s also exceptional talent within room 138. Within the very walls of Naperville North, students use their imaginative minds to run their own architecture firms. These students will even take their creativity to a national competition hosted by Chicago Architecture Today.

Three groups from the architectural drafting class will be competing on Thursday, May 1 and Friday, May 2 for the state and national title. Last year, senior Evan Harrison from Naperville North Architecture took home the state title for his group’s skyscraper. This year, he hopes to take home a national title.

“This year, we really stepped up our design process and how we’ve gone about integrating ideas into it. So I’m really excited to see the final product,” Harrison said. “I’m looking forward to having a final product that’s more in depth this year. While it was very good, it seemed very simple. This year, we’re doing a lot more complex stuff and trying to integrate new materials.”

Each group was given the task of designing a building that focuses on elite athletics, with a special emphasis on home fitness and lifestyles.

Harrison’s group designed a home that includes various fitness aspects. Senior Sagarika Jetley also designed a home with her group, Apex Architex, while senior Jesse Han designed a skyscraper to fit the theme with her group.

“We made floor plans on a program called Revit, which will 3-D print. We also will assemble a scaled model of our skyscraper, which will be at least three feet tall,” said Han.

The groups started preparing as early as first semester, and they are now starting to become nervous about the way the judges will react to their finished product.

Even as their nerves escalate, the groups are still excited for the rapidly approaching competition.

“I’m excited to see how the house actually turns out,” said Jetley. “I just want to see how the ideas we had when started come to life.”

While the three groups will compete against schools from all over the nation and the world, there is also a bit of friendly competition right within room 138.

“I’m also nervous about our competition because we checked out their introduction videos, and it looks like we’re against some pretty qualified people,” said Han.