Using Minecraft to Design a Hotel

Construction sites are increasingly getting involved with their community, and such activities go a long way towards improving the image of the industry as a whole.

Many sites choose to conduct outreach events with local schools, as this has the added benefit of promoting construction as a career path for bright young people. These school connections can take a variety of forms, but this site went the extra mile by using the creative software Minecraft to teach pupils about construction. The project was organised and delivered by the company, working in partnership with STEM Aware.

See the examples below for how the site achieved this:

• An engineer and technician from the site – which is a nine storey hotel – translated the building design into Minecraft code.
• A site engineer provided STEM training for pupils and teachers from 7 local schools who visited the site.
• Over an eight week period, school pupils aged 12-18 used Minecraft to develop the basic nine storey layout provided to them, and added features to the design based on the theme of environmental sustainability.
• The students responded well to the sustainability theme, with ideas including the use of kinetic walkways to produce electricity from pedestrian footfall to power lighting in the area.
• The initiative had substantial press coverage and was deemed a success by the collaborators and the schools.

This is a clear demonstration of an initiative which promotes industry image enhancement in engaging with local schools, and advances performance by attracting ideas from bright young people. Getting pupils involved in creative projects such as this helps make construction a more appealing career path, as it raises awareness of the diverse roles available in the industry.