By Katie Jenkins

From the time she could wield a pencil, her dream has been a work in progress. Precision characterizes her blueprints, and her focus rarely wavers. In ten days, sophomore Lauren Hanson will put her ambition to the test.

“I know my friends think it’s super nerdy of me to do this, but it’s actually super fun,” said Hanson. “I think people should know that it’s actually really cool.”

Along with juniors Chris Greco, Evan Harrision and Jon Quinn, Hanson will be part of the team competing in a national competition hosted by Chicago Architecture Today.

Unbeknownst to many, there is a fully functioning architecture firm within NNHS. Naperville North Architecture was continued by the four in November, and they have been hard at work since. The team has been challenged to design a multifamily house on a college campus, and their finished product will be entered into the residential division of the competition.

“We had to pick a location, a school, and then build the house from the ground up,” said Greco.

After careful research, the team chose an empty lot in Boston for the competition. Their house exceeded the environmental standards set by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), setting them apart from their competition. With this goal in mind, the team drafted the house using modern design elements.

“We used a lot of glass in our house to bring in the natural light. A lot of the walls are glass, and we even have a hallway that is strictly glass,” said Greco.  “I think that will definitely set us apart.”

Throughout this process, the team has been mentored by teacher Becky DiOrio and DLA architect Jon Murawski. The two often provided crucial insight, helping the team every step of the way.

“I think they’re going to do really well. It’s actually the first year that [students] did everything with the house,” said DiOrio. “They’ve had to run it as an actual architecture firm.”

In order to run an actual firm, the team divided the work load back in November. Harrison leads the team as manager, with Quinn in charge of blueprints, Greco in charge of marketing, and Hanson in charge of the house’s interior. Together, they produced countless blueprints, business cards, and innovative ideas. The team will present the three-dimensional model of their house and their firm to a panel of fifteen Chicago-based architects.

If Naperville North Architecture places, the payoff will be sizable. Scholarships, internships and other various prizes will be awarded.

Aside from the material, the greatest payoff may be the experience itself.

“I had considered photography when I first went into high school, and now I’m on the other side of the career spectrum,” said Hanson. “If you are interested at all [in taking architecture as a class], I would definitely talk to one of us or Mrs. DiOrio.”