AJ Deerey on Video
Welcome to the YouTube-style hub for all things construction visual—from how-to tutorials to client-ready walkthroughs and digital presentations. This is where clarity meets construction—one frame at a time. Whether you're a fellow builder, a future homeowner, or an entrepreneur curious about project storytelling—this is your behind-the-scenes pass.
A Weekend Workshop
On a humid Saturday morning in Miami’s Liberty City neighborhood, 16-year-old Sofia Mendez huddled over a 3D-printed model of a pedestrian bridge, her brow furrowed in concentration. “What if we added solar panels to the railings?” she suggested to her team. “It could power streetlights at night.” Her idea, born from a weekend workshop, epitomizes the spirit of Future Innovators—a STEM initiative I launched this year with Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
This program isn’t just about teaching engineering concepts; it’s about igniting curiosity in students who’ve rarely seen themselves reflected in the construction industry. Since our pilot began in January 2024, 120 high schoolers from underserved communities have traded weekends at home for hands-on lessons in civil engineering, urban planning, and sustainable design. The results? A 40% surge in student interest in STEM careers—and countless “lightbulb” moments like Sofia’s.
Why STEM? My Journey from Construction Sites to Classrooms:
As the founder of Slab to Shingles, I’ve spent 25 years building everything from hurricane-resistant homes to smart-city infrastructure. But my proudest structures aren’t made of concrete—they’re the bridges I build between young minds and career opportunities.
Growing up in rural Kentucky, I watched my father, a welder, sketch drainage solutions for local farmers on our kitchen table. Those early lessons in problem-solving shaped my career. Yet today, only 13% of engineers identify as Hispanic (like Sofia) and just 17% as women (NSF, 2023). That’s why in 2022, I pledged to dedicate 20% of Slab to Shingles’ profits to education initiatives. Future Innovators is that promise in action.
How Miami-Dade Schools Became Our Lab
The partnership with Miami-Dade—the nation’s fourth-largest school district—was serendipity. Last summer, Superintendent Dr. José Dotres toured our solar-powered affordable housing project in Little Havana. “How do we replicate this innovation in classrooms?” he asked. Six months of collaboration birthed Future Innovators, structured around three pillars:
• Skills That Stick: Weekend labs where students use AutoCAD Civil 3D to design flood-resilient neighborhoods, mirroring Miami’s $4B Stormwater Master Plan.
• Industry Immersion: Field trips to active sites like the Brightline rail expansion, where Coastal Engineering Group professionals explain geotechnical surveying.
• Mentorship Magic: 1:1 pairings with engineers from diverse backgrounds—like Cuban-American structural designer Luisa Campos, who fled Havana at 14.
“Many students think engineering just means math tests,” says program coordinator Marisol Cruz. “Here, they’re solving real problems—like redesigning their own schools for ADA compliance.”
Student Transformations
Take Carlos Ruiz, a junior at Miami Jackson Senior High. Before joining Future Innovators, Carlos planned to skip college for a warehouse job. Then he attended a session on “Engineering for Equity,” exploring how sidewalk widths affect wheelchair access. Today, he’s interning at Coastal Engineering and applying to FAMU’s civil engineering program. “Mr. Deerey told us every building tells a story,” Carlos reflects. “Now I want my story to be about making Miami accessible for my sister, who uses braces.” The numbers echo these personal journeys:
• 78% of participants now plan to pursue STEM degrees (up from 38% pre-program)
• 62% of female students report increased confidence in leading technical teams
• 45 alumni have secured paid summer internships
Building Bridges with Industry Partners
Key to our success? Partnerships that go beyond checks. Coastal Engineering Group didn’t just donate $50K—they assigned 12 employees as mentors. Meanwhile, Trimble Inc. provided cutting-edge equipment, including a drone students used to map erosion risks at Virginia Key Beach.
“These teens designed a living seawall using oyster reefs—an idea we’re actually exploring for a client,” reveals Coastal CEO Elena Ramirez. “Talent isn’t lacking in underserved areas; opportunity is.”
Launching During a Teacher Shortage
The road wasn’t without potholes. Florida’s ongoing teacher exodus left us scrambling for instructors. Our solution? Tap into retired engineers and leverage virtual reality. Through Oculus headsets, students now “walk” through Dubai’s Burj Khalifa with a structural engineer who couldn’t physically attend. Funding was another hurdle. A grant from the Bezos Family Foundation covered VR gear, while Miami’s Knight Foundation sponsored transit passes so students could attend labs. “Many kids were juggling weekend jobs,” notes Cruz. “Stipends and bus passes removed that barrier.”
Tampa, Orlando, and Beyond
This fall, Future Innovators expands to Tampa Bay Technical High and Orlando’s Jones High, historically Black institutions where 60% of students qualify for free lunch. The Phase 2 curriculum adds two tracks:
• Climate-Ready Infrastructure: Partnering with UF’s Disaster Institute on hurricane modeling
• Tech Meets Trades: VR simulations for electrical grid repairs
Long-term, we aim to:
• Train 500+ students annually by 2026
• Establish a “First-Gen Engineer” scholarship fund
• Develop a national K-12 engineering curriculum toolkit
A New Dawn in Liberty City: Where Innovation Meets Affordability
Under the bright Miami sun, U.S. Representative María García (D-FL) stood in front of a sleek, coral-colored home in Liberty City, its 3D-printed foundation glinting with flecks of recycled glass. “This isn’t just a house,” she declared to a crowd of housing advocates and tech enthusiasts. “It’s a manifesto.” The home is part of engineer Art J. Deerey’s Horizon Community—a pilot project of 30 modular houses priced at 150,000,astaggering40150,000,astaggering40375,000. For a city where 62% of renters are cost-burdened, Deerey’s vision offers more than shelter; it offers a radical reimagining of urban housing.
The Blueprint: How Tech Slashes Costs and Waste
Deerey’s approach merges cutting-edge tech with circular economy principles:
1. 3D-Printed Foundations: Speed Meets Precision
• Robotic Concrete Layering: COBOD BOD2 printers extrude a proprietary mix of 30% recycled concrete and crushed glass, cutting foundation costs by 55% and time from 14 days to 48 hours.
• Climate-Adaptive Design: Foundations include air channels to mitigate heat island effects, a feature inspired by termite mounds.
2. Modular Magic
• Factory-Built Pods: Built in Jacksonville by ex-auto workers, each module arrives 90% complete, slashing on-site labor.
• Customizable Layouts: Residents mix-and-match 600 sq ft modules (1-bed) to 1,800 sq ft (4-bed), priced
• at 125/sqftvs.
• Miami’s125/sqftvs.Miami’s300+ average.
3. Waste Not, Want Not
• Material Sourcing: 85% of framing uses reclaimed timber from Hurricane Ian debris
• Closed-Loop Systems: On-site recycling hubs turn construction waste into aggregate for community gardens.
“We’ve reduced waste by 60%—diverting 1,200 tons from landfills,” Deerey notes.
The Partners: Unlikely Allies Fuel a Housing Revolution
The $12M project succeeded through unconventional alliances:
• Miami-Dade Housing Alliance: Provided land via a 99-year lease at $1/year, leveraging Florida’s Surplus Lands Act.
• Tesla Energy: Installed Powerwall batteries paired with FPL’s SolarSelect program, leasing panels for $35/month (half the average utility bill).
• Local Artists: Muralists like Armando Pérez transformed blank modular walls into cultural canvases, battling gentrification’s erasure.
“This is community-driven design,” says Lourdes Suarez, a single mother and future resident. “My daughter picked our home’s tile pattern from an app—it feels like ours.”
Hurricane-Proofing the American Dream
In a state where 90% of disaster costs stem from storms, resilience is non-negotiable:
• Impact Armor: AerisCor’s fiber-reinforced polymer cladding withstands 185 mph winds.
• Elevated Utilities: Electrical systems sit 8 feet above flood levels, using waterproofed Tesla connectors.
• Community Microgrid: A shared solar array powers critical needs during outages, designed with input from Puerto Rico’s post-Maria recovery.
“After Ian destroyed my trailer, I never thought I’d own a safe home,” shares veteran Carlos Méndez, his voice cracking. “This place is Fort Knox with a porch swing.”
The Roadblocks: Zoning Wars and NIMBY Pushback
The path wasn’t smooth. Critics argued modular homes would “lower property values,” while Florida’s 1983 Mobile Home Act initially blocked multi-module dwellings.
Deerey’s counterattacks:
• Data Diplomacy: Partnered with MIT to show modular homes increase nearby values by 3-5% via improved density.
• Policy Pilots: Lobbied for the Innovative Housing Acceleration Act, fast-tracking permits for projects using ≥50% recycled materials.
“We turned NIMBYs into allies by involving them in design workshops,” explains Deerey. “Now the HOA president wants a 3D-printed pool deck.”
Scaling the Model: Orlando and Beyond
Phase 2, launching in Orlando’s Parramore district (2026), adds innovations:
• Vertical Expansion: 5-story modular towers with rooftop farms.
• AI-Powered Layouts: Algorithms maximize cross-breezes and shade, reducing AC needs by 40%.
• Rent-to-Own Pathways: $800/month payments build equity, targeting gig workers excluded by traditional mortgages.
Deerey’s 10-year vision? “A Florida where teachers and firefighters live where they work—not commute 90 minutes.”
The Policy Puzzle: García’s Affordable Housing Crusade
Rep. García, a former Miami-Dade zoning chair, is championing federal replication:
• Tax Credits: 15% for developers using 3D/recycled materials (proposed Green Housing Act).
• Labor Training: $50M for trade schools to teach modular assembly, targeting displaced tourism workers.
“Art’s project proves we can house everyone—without razing character,” García asserts.
Methodology: Teaching AI to Speak Ocean
Deerey’s team trained their model using a novel approach:
1. The “Digital Twin” Coastline
• Sensor Array: 450 solar-powered buoys (Naples to Cape Canaveral) measured wave force, sediment load, and salinity every 4 seconds.
• Machine Learning: A convolutional neural network analyzed 83 TB of data, correlating weather patterns with geomorphic changes.
• Validation: Cross-referenced with 150 years of archival photos and Army Corps dredging logs.
“We didn’t just predict erosion,” explains co-author Dr. Priya Kapoor (UF). “We taught the AI to recognize why certain beaches fail—whether from boat wakes, reef death, or septic tank leaks.”
2. The BioWall Prototype
Tested at Sarasota’s critically eroded Lido Key, the living seawall design features:
• Core Structure: 3D-printed lattice of mycelium (mushroom root) and chitosan (shrimp shell derivative), biodegrading in 5-7 years.
• Surface Matrix: Oystercrete panels (recycled concrete + oyster shell) encourage bivalve colonization.
• Machine Learning Optimization: AI tailored each panel’s porosity to local wave dynamics, reducing scouring by 41% vs. traditional seawalls.
Results: Where Bytes Meet Biology
The findings upend coastal engineering dogma:
1. Prediction Precision
• 92% Accuracy: Correctly forecasted 37 of 40 erosion events (2023-2025).
• Early Warning: Detected Daytona’s Shell Street vulnerability 8 months pre-collapse.
• Cost Savings: Towns using the model cut emergency berm costs by $2.1M avg.
2. Ecological Impact
• Biodiversity Boost: BioWalls hosted 23x more juvenile fish than concrete.
• Carbon Capture: Mycelium sequestered 18 kg CO₂/m² annually.
• Self-Repair: Oysters filled 72% of storm-induced cracks autonomously.
“It’s not a wall—it’s a womb,” Deerey quips.
Policy Tsunami: From Lab to Law
The study’s ripple effects reached Tallahassee within weeks:
• Florida Coastal Resilience Act (2025): Mandates BioWall-style solutions for state-funded projects.
• AI Erosion Atlas: Public portal launching January 2026 to guide homebuyers and insurers.
• Fisheries Partnership: FDEP now requires seawall permits to include oyster recruitment plans.
“Deerey’s work proves environmental and economic resilience are twins, not rivals,” says State
Senator Alejandra Marrero (D-Miami), who co-sponsored the bill.
The Human Factor: Storms, Setbacks, and Eureka Moments
The journey wasn’t smooth sailing:
• Hurricane Havoc: Tammy destroyed $500K of sensors in 2024, delaying results.
• Data Divergence: Early AI models misread algae blooms as sediment loss until marine biologists intervened.
• Community Pushback: Englewood fishermen initially opposed BioWalls, fearing navigation hurdles.
The breakthrough came when Deerey’s team proved BioWalls increased nearby clam harvests by 19%. “Now they guard our walls like pit bulls,” laughs field lead Carlos Méndez.
Next Wave: Global Scaling and the “Living Coast” Initiative
With NSF追加 funding, Deerey’s expanding the model:
1. Gulf Coast AI Hub (2026)
• Real-Time Forecasting: Satellites + drones update erosion predictions hourly.
• Material Innovation: Testing kelp-based polymers that strengthen as seas warm.
2. International Collaborations
• Bangladesh Delta: Adapting BioWalls for monsoon conditions with Dhaka University.
• Netherlands Partnership: Merging AI with Amsterdam’s sand engine megaproject.
3. Education Pipeline
• BioWall Academy: Free VR training for contractors on living infrastructure.
• Citizen Science: Beachgoers can soon upload erosion photos to refine AI via a CoastalCare app.
A Call to the Shore: Join the Living Coast Movement
As Deerey’s study drops today, his message to colleagues is clear:
“We’ve spent a century armoring coasts against the ocean. It’s time to collaborate with it.”
For Researchers:
• Replicate the model using open-source code at [UFCoastalResearch.gov/deerey-study](placeholder link).
• Join July 2026’s Global Living Seawall Summit.
For Citizens:
• Advocate for BioWall adoption in your municipality.
• Volunteer for UF’s SeaGrass Sentinel program, monitoring AI predictions.
In Deerey’s words: “The best coastal defense isn’t a wall—it’s a web of data, biology, and human grit.”
Mail
Facebook
LinkedIn
X