The new Robert W. Plaster Center for Advanced Manufacturing at Ozarks Technical Community College in Springfield, Mo., is a first-of-a-kind educational asset in the region. The 125,000-sf facility will educate and train a new generation in high tech, clean manufacturing and fabrication.
Strong, metallic materials and geometric forms make up the shining facade, creating a modern, creative feel. Flexibility was a key goal of the program; thus, the Center is designed to be open, with tracks for movable walls to adjust to varying class sizes and new configurations.
The building’s core is a workshop high bay area, featuring more than 30,000 sf of active learning environments that are double- and triple-height, encased in steel and glass. This design element puts the work of students and industry partner collaboration on display.
These spaces are stocked with advanced equipment, including 3D printers, laser cutters, robotic welders, computer-aided lathes, mechatronics stations, and an overhead gantry crane.
Classrooms are arranged alongside the high bay for seamless transitions from class to lab, while the glass collaboration zones overlook a 500-foot-long high bay space that is leasable to relocating or start-up companies. This area fronts one of Springfield’s main thoroughfares.
The new facility occupies a long, skinny site, and needed to provide tractor trailer access at multiple points. This created a design challenge to fit in with the pedestrian-friendly campus.
Like stitches holding different pieces of fabric together, the places between academic spaces pull together the large, open spaces full of glass and steel with playful, warm wood details bringing warmth to quiet study spaces. The flexible design encourages and supports both short- and longer-term training opportunities with a range of learning environments, including:
- Specialized hands-on learning environments
- Customizable simulation training centers
- Long-distance learning space
- Research and development labs
- Designated process-improvement space
- Business incubation test centers
- A large high-bay environment for industry-led projects.
A large assembly stair occupies the two-story lobby, flooded with daylight and equipped for presentations to large groups from busloads of middle school students to corporate investors.
On the project team:
Owner and/or developer: Ozarks Technical Community College
Design architect: Perkins and Will
Architect of record: Dake Wells Architecture
MEP engineers: Antella Consulting Engineers (electrical engineer); Henderson Engineers (mechanical, plumbing, fire protection engineer)
Structural engineer: J&M Engineering
General contractor/construction manager: Crossland Construction
Related Stories
| May 10, 2014
How your firm can gain an edge on university projects
Top administrators from five major universities describe how they are optimizing value on capital expenditures, financing, and design trends—and how their AEC partners can better serve them and other academic clients.
| May 1, 2014
First look: Cal State San Marcos's posh student union complex
The new 89,000-sf University Student Union at CSUSM features a massive, open-air amphitheater, student activity center with a game lounge, rooftop garden and patio, and ballroom space.
| Apr 29, 2014
USGBC launches real-time green building data dashboard
The online data visualization resource highlights green building data for each state and Washington, D.C.
Smart Buildings | Apr 28, 2014
Cities Alive: Arup report examines latest trends in urban green spaces
From vertical farming to glowing trees (yes, glowing trees), Arup engineers imagine the future of green infrastructure in cities across the world.
| Apr 16, 2014
Upgrading windows: repair, refurbish, or retrofit [AIA course]
Building Teams must focus on a number of key decisions in order to arrive at the optimal solution: repair the windows in place, remove and refurbish them, or opt for full replacement.
| Apr 9, 2014
Steel decks: 11 tips for their proper use | BD+C
Building Teams have been using steel decks with proven success for 75 years. Building Design+Construction consulted with technical experts from the Steel Deck Institute and the deck manufacturing industry for their advice on how best to use steel decking.
| Apr 8, 2014
Science, engineering find common ground on the Northeastern University campus [slideshow]
The new Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building is designed to maximize potential of serendipitous meetings between researchers.
| Apr 2, 2014
8 tips for avoiding thermal bridges in window applications
Aligning thermal breaks and applying air barriers are among the top design and installation tricks recommended by building enclosure experts.
| Mar 26, 2014
Callison launches sustainable design tool with 84 proven strategies
Hybrid ventilation, nighttime cooling, and fuel cell technology are among the dozens of sustainable design techniques profiled by Callison on its new website, Matrix.Callison.com.
| Mar 20, 2014
Common EIFS failures, and how to prevent them
Poor workmanship, impact damage, building movement, and incompatible or unsound substrate are among the major culprits of EIFS problems.
