BHS senior Katie Knies wins Architectural Award, takes second place overall in international contest for bridge-building

According to Bellingham High teacher Paul Clement, the final results of the 2025 International Bridge Building Contest in Chicago on April 26 were “a very close result” with BHS senior Katie Knies taking second place overall in the competition. Knies also took home the coveted Architectural Award which is given out ahead of the contest and based solely on design.

“The Architectural Award is given before the bridges are tested,” Knies said. “The judges look at the bridge design, build quality, and other architectural components. They choose one bridge for the award out of the 50 (ish) bridges at the competition.”

Knies shared that the competition brought home to her the importance of working closely with other students to learn how to build the best bridge.

“I think my biggest takeaway from this year’s bridge competitions would be the importance of collaboration,” Knies said. “Both last year and this year, I worked together with other students to improve my bridge design and building techniques,” she continued.

“This gave me a lot more confidence and improved my performance so much faster than working alone.”

Next fall, Knies plans to attend Purdue University in Indiana to study engineering. “I am not sure which type of engineering I will study yet, but I’m leaning towards mechanical or chemical.”

BHS junior Rylan Beal ended eighth place overall which is another great showing for western Washington state participants and for Bellingham High specifically. This was Beal’s third trip to the international competition having attended as both a freshman and a sophomore. Last year Beal took second place overall. See related story from 2024. Are there expectations for Beal’s senior year? You bet.

Beal shared that he is already thinking about next year as it will be his final chance to win. “I was definitely a bit disappointed because of how I placed in previous years,” he said, “but that motivates me to do even better next year! It was a great experience, and I am very proud of the work Katie and I put in this year.”

Clement attended the Chicago competition to support his two students. “It was a great weekend,” Clement shared,  “I am always so impressed with the dedication to perfection and how well the students handle the stress.”

“It’s more than five months of preparation, testing and iterative improvements culminating in about 30 seconds of testing with the top bridges separated by tenths of a gram of mass. It is really quite something.”

Clement reports that approximately 550 bridges were tested across all four district high schools this year alone demonstrating the perseverance and determination of these dedicated students.