Maclay School, a Tallahassee-based college preparatory school, has unveiled three new student labs made from refurbished shipping containers. The three labs, combined with a shared courtyard and gardens designed to foster collaboration, are collectively known as the Beck Family Research Center (BFRC).
Each lab will house a different focus: Biomedical and Student Research; Art, Inspiration, and Design; and Computer Science, Robotics, and Engineering. The containers were constructed off-site and shipped to the school. The labs include similar resources to those offered by research universities such as technology, active learning furnishings, and hands-on equipment. The furniture in all three labs is flexible and mobile to help create student-centered instruction and easy collaboration.
See Also: ASU Health Futures Center combines a novel design and approach to learning
An outdoor garden features raised beds that can double as seating. The beds contain plants that were selected for their potential to be used in lesson plans across all grade levels. The garden also includes a Solar SmartFlower. The SmartFlower uses solar panels arranged like flower petals to track the sun’s position throughout the day. When bad weather rolls in or the sun goes down, the “petals” retract, opening again when the sun comes out. The SmartFlower provides data for students to monitor and study on campus as part of the curricululm.
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Arup, Day & Zimmermann top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Perkins+Will, NBBJ top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
2014 Giants 300 Report
Building Design+Construction magazine's annual ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
| Jul 17, 2014
A harmful trade-off many U.S. green buildings make
The Urban Green Council addresses a concern that many "green" buildings in the U.S. have: poor insulation.
| Jul 11, 2014
$44.5 million Centennial Hall opens at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Centennial Hall houses the College of Education and Human Sciences and consolidates teacher education. It is the first new academic building on the UW-Eau Claire campus in more than 30 years.
| Jul 10, 2014
Berkeley Lab opens 'world's most comprehensive building efficiency simulator'
DOE’s new FLEXLAB is a first-of-its-kind simulator that lets users test energy-efficient building systems individually or as an integrated system, under real-world conditions.
| Jul 9, 2014
Harvard Business School to build large-scale conference center
Expected to open in 2018, the facility will combine the elements of a large-scale conference center, a performance space, and an intimate community forum. The new building will be designed by Boston-based William Rawn and Associates.
| Jul 7, 2014
7 emerging design trends in brick buildings
From wild architectural shapes to unique color blends and pattern arrangements, these projects demonstrate the design possibilities of brick.
| Jul 2, 2014
Emerging trends in commercial flooring
Rectangular tiles, digital graphic applications, the resurgence of terrazzo, and product transparency headline today’s commercial flooring trends.