The new 96,000-sf Center for Nursing and Health Sciences has recently opened and will act as the new “front door” for St. Louis Community College.
The four-story learning center is comprised of brick and metal panels and solar glass and shading and serves as a welcoming point for vehicle and pedestrian traffic from Oakland Avenue through the campus.
KAI held workshops with the college’s administration, staff, and faculty to create a design that met the needs of the end user. For example, interior spaces were designed for flexibility so they could be transformed into different functions as needed in the future.
The new building includes a dental clinic, surgical technology laboratories, teaching labs, classrooms, computer rooms, study areas, lounges, conference rooms, and office suites. Interior spaces provide opportunities for studying in groups or individually in areas such as seating niches in the corridors, bean bag chairs, and nesting tables.
The interior uses white walls with punches of accent colors on the furniture, lockers, and walls while LEED v4 requirements called for the use of lightly colored, highly reflective materials on the floors, ceilings, and work surfaces.
Approximately 900 students will be servedby the new facility, which consolidates the Forest Park campus’ existing Allied Health programs and also relocates the EMT/Paramedic technology currently offered at another campus.
See Also: The Kennedy Center expands for the first time since its 1971 debut
Tarlton Corp.was the general contractor for the project.
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