Texas A&M University and EYP have recently completed a renovation and modernization project of the university’s Engineering & Health Building for the Engineering Medicine (EnMed) program.
The program is an integrated medical and engineering option for medical school that focuses on innovation and entrepreneurship wherein students simultaneously earn their doctor of medicine and master of engineering in four years.
The EnMed building is located in the east of the Texas Medical Center. The facilities required an extensive renovation of two connected structures — a two-story former bank built in 1952 and a 17-story office tower built in 1962.
The exterior facade was replaced and redesigned and now features a unitized glazed curtain wall system with stone and metal panels. Inside, the building features large, reconfigurable learning studios, flexible classrooms, multidisciplinary labs, and glass-enclosed collaboration spaces. The elevator shafts in the old office building were small and needed to be made bigger to accommodate gurneys. The build team combined two elevator shafts and ordered a custom elevator to achieve the needed size.
A 2,471-sf maker space serves EnMed’s engineering curricula with reconfigurable tables, 3D printers, a machine shop, and a floor-to-ceiling glass partition system that provides views to what is happening inside. Embedded in the glass is one of the original bank vault doors that bridges the building’s past and future. Additionally, 3D modeling and virtual creation tools are available to all students in the VR and AR simulation rooms.
A medical education simulation center offers students skills-based training on the healthcare side of the program. The simulation suite provides a hospital environment complete with beds, mock headwalls, and integrated teaching space.
Also included are a cafe, a 240-seat auditorium, conference spaces, and support areas. The facility’s “crown jewel” is the 17th-floor board room and multifunction space, designed to attract students, faculty, and donors to the program.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Sep 27, 2023
Top 170 University Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, CannonDesign, Page Southerland Page, SmithGroup, and Ayers Saint Gross top the ranking of the nation's largest university sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Affordable Housing | Sep 25, 2023
3 affordable housing projects that serve as social catalysts
Trish Donnally, Associate Principal, Perkins Eastman, shares insights from three transformative affordable housing projects.
Adaptive Reuse | Sep 19, 2023
Transforming shopping malls into 21st century neighborhoods
As we reimagine the antiquated shopping mall, Marc Asnis, AICP, Associate, Perkins&Will, details four first steps to consider.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 115 Architecture Engineering Firms for 2023
Stantec, HDR, Page, HOK, and Arcadis North America top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
2023 Giants 400 Report: Ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
A record 552 AEC firms submitted data for BD+C's 2023 Giants 400 Report. The final report includes 137 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2023
Top 175 Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HKS, Perkins&Will, Corgan, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential building and multifamily housing work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Higher Education | Aug 22, 2023
How boldly uniting divergent disciplines boosts students’ career viability
CannonDesign's Charles Smith and Patricia Bou argue that spaces designed for interdisciplinary learning will help fuel a strong, resilient generation of students in an ever-changing economy.
Adaptive Reuse | Aug 17, 2023
How to design for adaptive reuse: Don’t reinvent the wheel
Gresham Smith demonstrates the opportunities of adaptive reuse, specifically reusing empty big-box retail and malls, many of which sit unused or underutilized across the country.
Higher Education | Aug 7, 2023
Building a better academic workplace
Gensler's David Craig and Melany Park show how agile, efficient workplaces bring university faculty and staff closer together while supporting individual needs.
University Buildings | Aug 7, 2023
Eight-story Vancouver Community College building dedicated to clean energy, electric vehicle education
The Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation, to be designed by Stantec, will house classrooms, labs, a library and learning center, an Indigenous gathering space, administrative offices, and multiple collaborative learning spaces.
