NC State University has officially broken ground on Fitts-Woolard Hall, a new $150 million engineering building on Centennial Campus. The 250,000-sf facility was designed by Clark Nexsen and will feature a transparent design that puts “engineering on display.”
The building’s main entry is flanked by a structural testing lab, senior student project space, and a large scale driving simulator that are all visible on the exterior and interior of the building.
Courtesy Clark Nexsen.
Collaboration and interaction will be supported throughout the four-story building in high degrees of transparency. Stairs at the end of the building will act as connecting threads between floors and reveal the building’s structural and mechanical systems as an additional instructional tool. An outdoor terrace, interspersed seating, and an open, collaborative space on the second floor known as “the hearth” will promote socialization and interaction between students.
See Also: South Dakota State University to receive new apartment and townhouse neighborhood
The third and fourth floors, which will be contained in a floating volume, will house faculty offices, graduate student space, and additional classrooms and research labs. Overall, Fitts-Woolard Hall will contain over 100 classrooms and laboratories and house the Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering and the Fitts Department of Industrial and System Engineering.
Skanska is the project’s general contractor.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Mar 7, 2022
A new facility can offer thousands of equine therapy sessions a year
At its new Spur campus in Denver, Colorado State University (CSU) will bring its expertise to the public by offering free educational experiences to visitors of all ages. Spur’s three buildings—Hydro, Terra, and Vida—will focus, respectively, on water, earth, and life.
University Buildings | Mar 4, 2022
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee celebrates new chemistry building with groundbreaking
The building will serve as a gateway for all STEM and health science related majors, housing the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
Higher Education | Mar 1, 2022
SRG Partnership designs a nautically inspired space for maritime science
A community college in Oregon has begun construction on a new building devoted to maritime science. With it, the school hopes to solidify its position as a major industrial and marine technology center in the Pacific Northwest.
Education Facilities | Feb 24, 2022
New ASU science and tech building features innovative sustainability elements
Arizona State University’s Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7, completed in December 2021, was constructed with numerous innovative sustainability elements.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
On-campus performing arts centers and museums can be talent magnets for universities
Cultural facilities are changing the way prospective students and parents view higher education campuses.
University Buildings | Feb 18, 2022
UPenn converts a library past its prime to a tech-integrated learning and maker
In September 2021, Penn reopened its renovated and expanded library as an open center for cross-disciplinary learning, prototyping, and collaboration. Now called Biotech Commons, the 17,000-sf building supports new modes of research by offering a range of spaces and services that is free to be scheduled by any student or faculty member.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2022
A vacated school in St. Louis is turned into a center where suppliers exchange ideas
In 1871, The Carondelet School, designed by Frederick William Raeder, opened to educate more than 400 children of laborers and manufacturers in St. Louis. The building is getting a second lease on life, as it has undergone a $2 million renovation by goBRANDgo!, a marketing firm for the manufacturing and industrial sectors.
University Buildings | Feb 15, 2022
Ohio University's Chilled Water Plant #3 brings high design to a campus utility
Leers Weinzapfel Associates has also designed chiller plants on the campuses of Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Harvard University’s Allston Campus, and the Ohio State University.
University Buildings | Feb 14, 2022
Leers Weinzapfel Associates to renovate, expand the Williams College Davis Center
The project will add almost 8,000 sf of space.
Coronavirus | Jan 20, 2022
Advances and challenges in improving indoor air quality in commercial buildings
Michael Dreidger, CEO of IAQ tech startup Airsset speaks with BD+C's John Caulfield about how building owners and property managers can improve their buildings' air quality.
