flexiblefullpage
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Zachry Engineering Education Complex: Rethinking engineering education

Reconstruction Awards

Zachry Engineering Education Complex: Rethinking engineering education

Texas A&M’s engineering school builds for future growth.


By John Caulfield, Senior Editor | November 13, 2019
The zachry exterior

Once a four-story, precast concrete box, the Zachry has become a campus threshold and gateway. All photos: Randy Braley Photography

In 2013, Texas A&M University College of Engineering launched its “25 by 25 initiative,” whose goal is to more than double its enrollment to 25,000 students by 2025 without incurring significant infrastructure costs. All this while simultaneously creating a 21st-century engineering education model focused on technology-enabled learning, hands-on projects, and collaborative and multidisciplinary learning spaces.

The first step was the renovation and expansion of the old Zachry building, a 1970s-era precast box. The revivified structure, now the largest academic building on campus, has become a gateway that has added two five-story additions totaling 225,000 sf. Its common labs have open floor plans organized by themes rather than by standalone departments.

To make the building look like new construction, the project team, led by architect TreanorHL, removed the entire load-bearing precast concrete façade. Permanent steel framing was installed prior to removal, which eliminated the need for about 90% of temporary shoring. The team also reused 80% of materials from the original structure.

 

The atrium and staircaseThe atrium and staircase are activated by natural light, flexible seating, glass walls, and a skylight. 

 

Visual transparency into the learning studios, labs, maker spaces, and outdoor green spaces activates the building’s interior. A new central atrium connects a learning staircase and a 165-foot-long, 3,500-sf split-level skylight that runs down the atrium’s spine.

To support new ways of learning and instruction, the design team collaborated with a national furniture manufacturer to develop custom group tables whose monitors can be raised and lowered on demand. Users can switch between tables and displays to selectively share and display inputs from any point in the room, from distance learning, and via interactive touchscreens (T1V) in each learning studio. These components and concepts were tested in an offsite prototype classroom prior to installation.

The Zachry Engineering Education Complex received the Gold Medal Engineering Excellence Award and the Eminent Conceptor Award from the American Council of Engineering.

 

GOLD AWARD WINNER

BUILDING TEAM TreanorHL (submitting firm, architect) Texas A&M University (owner/developer) JQ Infrastructure (SE, CE) Shah Smith & Associates (MEP) Coleman & Associates (landscape architect) Vaughn Construction (GC, CM) DETAILS 530,000 sf Total cost $171 million Construction time August 2016 to July 2018 Delivery method CM at risk

Related Stories

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 16, 2015

Lumberyard turned into Chicago charter school

While the existing structures were in poor condition, the Building Team preserved and restored 75% of the spaces and incorporated historic elements in the final design of the Intrinsic School on Chicago's Northwest side.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 12, 2015

Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School grows with the times

The 251-year-old NYC school was a design-build project that overcame issues like tight space and zoning appeals during its redevelopment.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 10, 2015

Restoration of the Whitney Building provides hope for Detroit

Four years ago, Whitney Partners purchased the 253,000-sf Whitney for $3.3 million. Their mission was to turn the 19-story structure into a mixed-use hotel, rental apartment, and retail center that would serve as a reminder of more prosperous times in Detroit’s past.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 9, 2015

University of Chicago uses space economically with Saieh Hall

The five-story, 100,000-sf seminary was converted into a modern education facility that would be fully integrated into the university’s Hyde Park campus. The project demonstrated the university’s commitment to finding a balance between new construction and adaptive reuse of historically significant buildings.

Reconstruction Awards | Nov 9, 2015

King of kings: Classic brooklyn movie theater stages a return engagement

The theater, which withstood vacancy, neglect and vandalism, has been redeveloped with a goal: balance preservation with the creation of a modern performance space.

boombox1
boombox2
native1

More In Category


Giants 400

BD+C Awards Programs

Entry information and past winners for Building Design+Construction's two major awards programs: 40 Under 40 and Giants 400



halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021