The University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) has broken ground on Milgard Hall, a state-of-the-art STEM learning lab. The building will connect students and faculty across the Milgard Business School, the School of Engineering & Technology, and the Global Innovation and Design Lab.
Designed by Architecture Research Office (ARO), the 55,000-sf building will be built with mass timber and incorporates sustainability into almost every facet of the facility’s design and construction. The building is carefully sited to maximize access to daylight and views and is programmed relative to solar energy to reduce HVAC loads wherever possible.
Milgard Hall is located adjacent to the revitalized Prairie Line Trail and surrounded by historic warehouse structures. The design is rooted in Tacoma’s history, including its connection to lumber and trades and the terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad. Exterior materials relate to the existing brick structures nearby as well as the modern urban context. Glimpses of the mass timber structure can be seen through expanses of glass in select zones. The local brick is contrasted with profiled metal panels. Large windows punctuate the facade, opening up towards the sky.
SEE ALSO: New 678-bed student housing development breaks ground near the University of South Carolina
Classrooms, laboratories, and an outdoor Science Court are situated to be visible from the Prairie Line Trail, actively connecting the students to passersby. An open, airy, common area, dubbed the “Connector,” extends through the building and accommodates a natural path across campus, further activating the building as a student hub at the south side of campus. All departments converge in the Connector, allowing it to be used simultaneously as a collaborative zone and for individual study and work. The Connector also welcomes the surrounding community, providing access to a large, flexible High Impact Practice Space and other flexible classrooms.
The building will be a home for the expanding School of Engineering and Technology (SET) and will house a lab wing providing new engineering spaces on campus. The spaces will include a machine and fabrication shop and concrete combustion labs with exterior access to the street and Science Court. Hydrology and Robotics labs are located on the upper floors of the building. The Global Innovation Design Lab (GIDLab) will include flexible spaces that support a design thinking methodology. Synergies between SET, GIDLab, and the Milgard School of Business will be promoted in the building, intersecting with the broader Tacoma community.
Milgard Hall is slated to be completed in 2023.
Related Stories
| Nov 3, 2014
An ancient former post office in Portland, Ore., provides an even older art college with a new home
About seven years ago, The Pacific Northwest College of Art, the oldest art college in Portland, was evaluating its master plan with an eye towards expanding and upgrading its campus facilities. A board member brought to the attention of the college a nearby 134,000-sf building that had once served as the city’s original post office.
| Oct 16, 2014
Perkins+Will white paper examines alternatives to flame retardant building materials
The white paper includes a list of 193 flame retardants, including 29 discovered in building and household products, 50 found in the indoor environment, and 33 in human blood, milk, and tissues.
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows
This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 17, 2014
New hub on campus: Where learning is headed and what it means for the college campus
It seems that the most recent buildings to pop up on college campuses are trying to do more than just support academics. They are acting as hubs for all sorts of on-campus activities, writes Gensler's David Broz.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
