15-Year-0ld Wins $10,000 With Home Design That Withstands Hurricanes

A 15-year-old from North Carolina has designed a home that can withstand category-four hurricane-force winds. His name is Ajith Varikuti, and he has spent the last few years teaching himself the skills necessary to make a positive impact in his community and help fight the effects of climate change.

While in middle school, Varikuti began teaching himself how to use a free web-based 3D design program called TinkerCad. Over the next few years, he would continue to learn more and more about 3D modeling until he could use professional grade programs. After a short period, this young man realized he could use his knowledge to solve a big problem with housing in his community. Not long after, he designed a 3D-printed modular home that could withstand a class four hurricane and won $10,000 at Autodesk’s 2024 Make it Resilient student contest.

Designing the home

It all started while Varikuti was in Middle school, and the COVID pandemic was in full swing. While looking for a way to spend his free time, a free web-based 3D modeling program called Tinkercad caught his interest. Finding the program fun and engaging, he developed a thirst for knowledge.

"I couldn't stop there, so I started learning Autodesk's professional-grade software programs." Ajith continued, “I realized I could use these tools to solve a real problem for my community.”

After mastering TinkerCad, he moved on to the professional-grade programs Fusion and Revit. While learning Revit, he came up with the idea of using this knowledge to design a home that could withstand natural disasters in North Carolina’s Outer Banks.

In the Outer Banks of North Carolina, coastal flooding and hurricane-force winds are serious issues. Many of the traditionally designed homes in that area are not equipped to handle these problems, and the growing issue of climate change only worsens things.

Varikuti, however, had an idea: What if homes were designed to withstand high winds and made with a modular system that could be moved further inland when needed? He got to work, and soon, he had an initial design for his modular home.

Designing a home in a 3D modeling program was only the first step. Next, he had to test it. He used a program called Finite Element Analysis to test the model in actual life conditions, such as 150-mile-an-hour winds. This software helped confirm that his flat roof design minimizes potential uplift in high winds, making the roof less likely to get torn off the house. Additionally, a large area beneath the second floor and the unenclosed deck reduced the pressure, allowing dangerous winds to blow through. To get some professional help, he approached Mr. Moustafa El-Sawy, S.E. P.E., a structural engineer from AECOM, who helped him revise the home’s foundation to account for frost depths and make it more stable.

After a few revisions, the modular home system was able to withstand hurricane-force winds. Also, because of the modular design, the home could be 3D printed piece by piece, then moved to a building site and assembled. This means the home can also be disassembled after construction and moved inland to avoid eroding shorelines.

After testing Varikuti’s design, he went on to compete in Autodesk’s 2024 Make it Resilient student contest, where he won the $10,000 grand prize. This contest, allowing entrants between the ages of 13 and 21 in secondary and high school living in the US or Canada, asked young people to use Autodesk software to create a affordable housing solution and awarded $50,000 in scholarship prizes.

How the home was tested for hurricanes

The Future for Ajith Varikuti

Since winning the competition, Varikuti has designed three more interchangeable modules. He wants to have a large inventory of modules so that home builders can choose and design their homes from the options. With a large number of combinations, each home could be unique and able to fit the needs of each homeowner. This feature would also help with renovations, add-ons, and other adaptations.

In the future, Varikuti hopes to continue working in engineering and engage in professional internships. He will also continue working toward making his climate-resistant home designs a reality in North Carolina and plans to pitch the designs to home builders in the Outer Banks area.