Engineering program raises roof on storage shed
Students in the engineering program, along with teacher Frank Torrano, built a storage shed for supplies in the inner courtyard.
March 10, 2022
On an average day at Riordan, few students pay attention to the inner courtyard, which has remained vacant and bare for as long as most can remember.
Julien Untalan ’24, a student in the Engineering Program, said that he found it “drab and dreary.”
However, a bold new project is about to materialize. Frank Torrano, head of the engineering program at Riordan, created a project to build a new Engineering Shed, located in the once desolate courtyard.
According to Torrano, the idea for the shed came out of necessity. Torrano elaborated, “I wanted to create a space out here because we were running out of space in the upstairs lab. There’s also a lot of noxious fumes involved in the lessons I would like to teach my class, and working outdoors is the only safe way to do it.”
With all this extra space, he plans to store equipment that cannot fit in the upstairs lab, as well as to host welding and carpentry lessons for the engineering program.
Although the construction of the shed seemed to be straightforward, Torrano revealed that it was not as simple as it looked.
“When the shed arrived, we couldn’t start working on it because of all the heavy rain we’ve had recently.”
Torrano also said that he wanted a bigger shed, but due to costs, he chose a smaller one. All in all, the shed cost the school $2,500, a significant reduction from the original price of $12,000.
Torrano has high hopes for the future of the courtyard as a whole, not just the shed, however.
“My goal for this courtyard is for it to be a place where students can relax during munch and lunch,” he said. “That’s why I want to call this space the Oasis, as a representation of that.”