State competition honors students pursuing an interest in architecture and design

AUSTELL, Ga., Feb. 24, 2016 — (PRNewswire) —  YKK AP America is honored to serve as the presenting sponsor for the 11^th annual AIA Atlanta High School Student Design Competition (HSSDC). The competition, which aims to encourage an interest in architecture, honors high school students across the state of Georgia in two categories, introductory or experienced.

"AIA Atlanta's High School Student Design Competition is excited to be partnering with YKK AP this year. With the help of YKK AP, AIA Atlanta is able to extend the reach of the HSSDC to all students in Georgia, and this year we are able to offer more than $5,000.00 in scholarship and prizes to the winners of the competition," said Missy Bower, Director of Membership & Development. "These scholarships are essential to developing and encouraging young minds to pursue architecture in higher education and we're excited to have YKK AP on board as a partner to help us in our mission."

This year's competition challenges students to design a threshold, an object that defines and separates two different spaces, for a site along the Atlanta Beltline Project, a new corridor that connects 45 neighborhoods within the city. Austell, Ga –based YKK AP, hopes to help AIA Atlanta encourage students to realize their potential future in architecture and design.

"YKK AP is committed to working with influential associations to empower and educate youth on the great things architecture does for communities around the world. Our sponsorship of the AIA Atlanta High School Student Design Competition is one of many ways we are honoring our commitment to the next generation," says Oliver Stepe, senior vice president, YKK AP America. "We hope that by empowering youth to pursue a career in STEAM-related fields, we can help to cultivate the next generation of architects and designers."

In addition to YKK AP's sponsorship of the High School Design Competition, the company is also supporting the Dublin High School FIRST Robotics Competition Team. The team, which formed this past December, consists of 16 students who will work together to build and program industrial-sized robots to play a difficult field game against like-minded competition. The competition teaches students invaluable skills, like teamwork, problem solving and time management. Three volunteers from YKK AP America, Alaysia Permaul, associate design engineer, Randy Kearns, assistant engineer, and Toby Gould, controller, will guide this year's Dublin High School team.

For more information about YKK AP and its commitment to encouraging youth interest in architecture and engineering, please visit ykkap.com.

About YKK AP America

YKK AP America Inc. manufactures entrances, storefronts, curtain walls, window walls, sunshades, windows and sliding doors for office buildings, residential high-rises, schools, stadiums, shopping centers and institutional structures. All building products are manufactured in Dublin, Ga. in ISO 14001 certified facilities that operate in a sustainable manner by reducing pollution and waste. The company is also recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy for Exceptional Leadership in Industrial Energy Efficiency. YKK AP America is based in Austell, Ga. and is a subsidiary of YKK Corporation of America, whose parent company is global manufacturer YKK Corporation of Japan. For more information, visit www.ykkap.com and follow YKK AP on Twitter and YouTube.

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SOURCE YKK AP America