Flanking the new Library, the Business Technology & Mathematics Building and the Arts & Humanities Building will seek to bridge the gap between the existing and new styles. Materials and building form were strategically selected and also help the buildings to relate well with each other yet still maintain their own identity. The result is a grouping of buildings that work together as a whole. These buildings will surround a new campus commons, which will become the center of campus, and an important meeting and gathering space for student interaction and community use.
A collaborative programming and design process took place with the client, users, key decision makers and the design team to identify the goals. The resulting program includes classrooms, office suites, a mathematics lab, an art department and a music department. Housing these programs together will help reduce the fragmentation that currently exists with students and faculty. To meet the program needs, the design team utilized BIM to ensure that all opportunities were fully explored, and that high levels of collaboration were maintained.
Sustainable design played a major role. The sloped roofs, which provide clerestory windows facing north and photovoltaic panels facing south, as well as deep shading and efficient massing, all contribute to a sustainable building form. BIM allowed the design team to study building orientation and to optimize overhangs to maximize efficiency. High performance materials, glazing, lighting systems and mechanical systems are utilized throughout, helping the project to ultimately obtain LEED Silver Certification.
Respect was given to the campus master plan, especially by view corridors that connect the main north campus entrance and the west entrance to the tower element within the new campus commons. These axes pass though both buildings, and their entrance lobbies were designed to reflect this connection through the use of transparent structural glass walls, a thin bridge, and glass rail at the second floor, and materials that extend from interior to exterior. These buildings will both unify the programs held within them as well as bring a greater sense of unity to a campus that is looking ahead toward the future growth and success of its students.
