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
| Aug 11, 2010
PCL Construction, HITT Contracting among nation's largest commercial building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Commercial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Webcor, Hunt Construction lead the way in mixed-use construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 30 Mixed-Use Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest institutional building design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Institutional Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Polshek Partnership unveils design for University of North Texas business building
New York-based architect Polshek Partnership today unveiled its design scheme for the $70 million Business Leadership Building at the University of North Texas in Denton. Designed to provide UNT’s 5,400-plus business majors the highest level of academic instruction and professional training, the 180,000-sf facility will include an open atrium, an internet café, and numerous study and tutoring rooms—all designed to help develop a spirit of collaboration and team-oriented focus.
| Aug 11, 2010
UCLA to get more graduate housing
The University of California, Los Angeles, has begun a new graduate housing project that will occupy 275,000 sf of the campus. The Wayburn Terrace Graduate Housing Project, led by California-based construction management and consulting firm Gafcon, includes a residential building comprising 500 studio apartments, a commons building, and administrative offices.
| Aug 11, 2010
Fashion school gives old building a make over
A new art facility for LIM, the College for the Business of Fashion, in midtown Manhattan is the result of a gut renovation of a six-story townhouse-school built in 1880. The new facility will continue LIM's mission of educating undergraduates on the business side of fashion. Architecture firm Butler Rogers Baskett transformed the old building's claustrophobic layout into a modern, multifunctio...
| Aug 11, 2010
Biomedical center to join London's research scene
The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, a partnership of scientific organizations researching new treatments for illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, hopes to attract leading medical scientists to its planned research center. Designed by HOK London, the building will be located on 3.
| Aug 11, 2010
San Diego Mesa College enhances math and science facilities
A $92 million, 180,000-sf instructional center soon will rise at the heart of San Diego Mesa College in California. Slated to open in November 2012, the Math and Science Building will be funded by Propositions S and N construction bond program. The blueprint calls for four floors of classrooms, laboratory space, and offices for several science departments.
| Aug 11, 2010
Tufts University puts bite into new dental school addition
The recently dedicated Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, in Boston, represents the culmination of a 22-month vertical expansion of the school's original 1972 building. The $68 million project involved constructing five new stories totaling 95,000 sf atop the building's existing 10 stories, which were also remodeled.
| Aug 11, 2010
Northeast Lakeview College opens in Texas, to serve 15,000 students
After four years of construction, Northeast Lakeview College, the newest addition to Alamo Colleges, is complete. Designed by Overland Partners Architects in collaboration with Ford Powell & Carson, the nine-building, 285-acre campus in Universal City, near San Antonio, will serve up to 15,000 students.
