University of Miami design/build program receives new immersive-learning facility
By David Malone, Associate Editor
The University of Miami Department of Architecture recently unveiled the B.E. & W.R. Miller BuildLab. The space was created by and for the Department of Architecture and provides a space for students to execute a modern architectural project from start to finish in a real-life design/build context.
The open-air building has a 40-foot x 40-foot concrete frame and 17.5-foot-high ceilings. Professor Rocco Ceo, AIA, LEED AP, NCARB, designed the building and then students completed the furnishings and interior and exterior details of the project.
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Building materials and tools are held in a series of containers around the building’s perimeter to keep the main space open and useable for physical work. Kebony modified wood panels with inset doors make up the structure’s walls and encourage air circulation throughout the space. A double-height roll-up door with a built in ramp is located on one side of the building and is dimensioned to the Florida Department of Transportation’s specifications to accommodate loading projects on a flatbed truck for transportation to the site for assembly.
