The Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) recently made a gift of $25,000 to support a graduate design studio taught by Assistant Professor Tristan Al-Haddad entitled Public Power.  This Design + Research course is a digital design+build studio being conducted in the School of Architecture that will continue the collaboration with the Atlanta Beltline Inc (ABI) to design and build a new public space infrastructure in reinforced concrete to serve as gathering space, outdoor performance gallery, play-space and energy infrastructure on the Atlanta Beltline.  The project is supported by the Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute (CRSI) and will allow students to work as a project team to design and construct a reinforced concrete structure using state of the art digital design tools and CNC technology to produce custom formwork for construction of the small reinforced concrete pavilion.  The project will also create a grid tied solar canopy to produce renewable energy as a demonstration of research and shared values between Georgia Tech, CRSI and ABI.  Power produced from the system will be used locally on site to bring the space to net zero power consumption.  This energy will also be used to create various spatial effects within the project including lighting and cooling.  During the semester students will learn the state of the art in parametric modeling software and other digital design and fabrication tools as well as learning about the history, logic, and detailed design of reinforced concrete through a series of lectures and field trips to rebar mills, cage fabrication shops, and cast-in-place concrete jobsites.  The custom formwork components will be produced by the students at the College of Architecture’s Digital Fabrication Laboratory using industrial 5-Axis routers and CNC controlled hot-wire cutters.