Perkins+Will-designed engineering building at University of Buffalo opens

The new home of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, designed by Perkins+Will, opened at the University at Buffalo. Co-locating the departments of computer science and electrical engineering in a single facility, the 133,000-sf Barbara and Jack Davis Hall creates an collaborative education and research environment.

Clad in glass and copper-colored panels, the three-story building thrusts outward from the core of the campus to establish a new identity for the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and the campus at large. Formerly scattered among seven different locations, the engineering campus is now focused and consolidated, with a defined “front door” for the school and a new quad and interior common spaces.??

Davis Hall will enable the University at Buffalo to expand research in nanotechnology, pattern recognition and bio-based security systems, among other fields. The hybrid design of the hall stresses the value of interactive space for learning and discovery. The building is organized around a glass-enclosed, multi-story gallery that facilitates pedestrian traffic into the existing campus, creates an interactive educational/research environment, and culminates in a multi-tiered student lounge that activates a new courtyard shared with the existing Marcel Breuer buildings.

Facing south, the glass gallery is a daylight-filled science commons that includes open staircases that allow for spontaneous student and staff interaction. It also comprises a series of interlocking volumes that include windows into laboratories for the active display of technological research. Throughout the building, which also houses the Center of Excellence in Document Analysis and Recognition (CEDAR) and the Center for Unified Biometrics and Sensors (CUBS), cross-disciplinary zones are distributed for informal gathering spaces equipped with SMART Boards.

The new hall is tracking for USGBC LEED Gold certification through features like enhanced building shell insulation, high-performance windows and energy efficient lighting, the building improves overall energy performance 33.8% above the baseline ASHRAE 90.1-2004 requirements. +

As the healthcare landscape continues to evolve, IMEG’s healthcare leaders from across the country are seeing several emerging trends that are poised to have wide-ranging impacts on facility design and construction. Following are six of the trends and strategies they expect to become more commonplace in 2022 and the years to come.

Energy-Efficient Design | Apr 19, 2022

A prefab second skin can make old apartments net zero

A German startup is offering a new way for old buildings to potentially reach net-zero status: adding a prefabricated second skin.

Concrete Technology | Apr 19, 2022

SGH’s Applied Science & Research Center achieves ISO 17025 accreditation for concrete testing procedures

Simpson Gumpertz & Heger’s (SGH) Applied Science & Research Center recently received ISO/IEC17025 accreditation from the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) for several concrete testing methods.

Howard and Irene Levine Senior Community

Senior Living Design | Apr 19, 2022

Affordable housing for L.A. veterans and low-income seniors built on former parking lot site

The Howard and Irene Levine Senior Community, designed by KFA Architecture for Mercy Housing of California, provides badly needed housing for Los Angeles veterans and low-income seniors

Multi-story building systems and selection criteria

This course outlines the attributes, functions, benefits, limits, and acoustic qualities of composite deck slabs. It reviews the three primary types of composite systems that represent the full range of long-span composite floor systems and examines the criteria for their selection, design, and engineering.

Building Team | Apr 18, 2022

Shive-Hattery Acquires WSM Architects

Shive-Hattery announces that it has acquired WSM Architects, Inc., a 13-person architecture firm in Tucson, Arizona.

CU Denver engineering, design and computing building

University Buildings | Apr 18, 2022

SmithGroup to design new Univ. of Colorado Denver engineering, design, computing building

The University of Colorado Denver selected SmithGroup to design a new engineering, design, and computing building that will serve as anchor of new downtown innovation district.