Future-Oriented Science Education

by Marcy Marro | 1 February 2021 12:00 am

CMBA Architects[1], Sioux City, Iowa, was the architect of record for the project, working alongside HGA[2], Minneapolis, the design architect. The three-story building features eight classroom labs, five research labs, six human patient simulators, 22 faculty offices, two skybridges, and a 960-square-foot greenhouse. There’s also one DNA gene sequencer, making Northwestern one of only two institutions in Iowa with one.

There is also dedicated space for collaborative student-faculty research, and provides students of biology, chemistry or nursing with state-of-the-art facilities to match the exceptional science education and career preparation the school is known for. Amy Douma, AIA, LEED AP, design principal at HGA, says that the DeWitt Family Science Center represents a bold vision for the college’s future by relocating and expanding the high-profile health sciences programs into a single location that encourages visibility, innovation and academic integration.

While the majority of Northwestern’s buildings are brick, the new science center is a modern facility designed to set the tone for the school’s future. Additionally, its main focal feature is a cantilever that provides amazing views of the campus. Since this required a low-weight material, the architects chose a coated metal. “The facility’s focal point is a light-filled classroom that supports contemporary, collaborative science education,” Douma adds. “This space cantilevers from the upper floors toward the primary road entering the campus and glows, acting as a welcoming beacon at night.”

By using simple, modern massing, and contemporary materials, the architects were able to create a striking image against the adjacent brick buildings, with expanses of glass to showcase the scientific study within. “While much of the design contrasts with the surrounding buildings, its façade colors and the integration of existing circulation paths enable it to blend with and reinforce the overall campus organization,” explains Douma.

To create a cohesive look with the nearby brick buildings, Americlad Quality Metalcrafts LLC[3], Rogers, Minn., provided its AC-5000 flat lock panels in three custom two-coat mica finishes of Minneapolis-based Sherwin-Williams Coil Coatings’[4] Fluropon 70% PVDF coil coating in Expresso, Hedgehog and English Brown, as well as its AC-4000 glaze-in infill panels in a Champagne Metallic. The panels are wrapped around one another and applied in a randomized pattern to add depth to the long expanses of the façade.

The custom colors were chosen for their ability to blend with the brick buildings, as well as enabling the architects a chance to infuse a modern look into the campus without creating a facility that looks foreign. “The randomized pattern creates a texture that gives the facility’s long, flat façades interest while using a relatively inexpensive metal system,” Douma says. “The original metal proposed for the building had an integral pattern within each panel; when we switched to a less expensive, solid-color panel system, the randomized pattern enabled us to create visual interest and depth with a less expensive material.”

MG McGrath[5], Maplewood, Minn., installed glass and glazing systems both on the exterior and inside the building. The interior glass work was clear tempered glass including 100 square feet of glass handrails, 1,371 square feet of glass walls and 760 square feet of miscellaneous interior glass, all from Oldcastle BuildingEnvelope[6], Dallas.

For the exterior, MG McGrath installed 12,622 square feet of insulated metal panels into 1-inch Solarban 90 glass from Vitro Architectural Glass[7], Cheswick, Pa. Additionally, MG McGrath installed a variety of products from Norcross, Ga.-based Kawneer Inc.[8], including Dark Bronze Anodized 451T Kawneer framing, aluminum-framed entrances and storefronts (with OldCastle Glass); 22 leafs of Kawneer heavy-duty doors (with OldCastle Glass); and Kawneer 1600 glazed aluminum curtainwall in both captured and SSG (with OldCastle Glass).

As Joe Theisen, project manager with MG McGrath explains, they had to work with the architect and general contractor, Opus Design Build LLC[9], Minnetonka, Minn., to integrate the panels and lighting in the exterior curtainwall system, custom handrail attachments into structural steel and glass walls in the meeting rooms that appear to span multiple floors. “The clear-span curtainwall on the balcony and the integration of the lights and panels in our curtainwall were the real challenges for the exterior scope,” he says.

“A project this bold and future-oriented is unusual for a small Iowa town,” adds Douma. “The facility reflects the vision of the campus leadership and was made possible through strong financial support by members of the tight-knit community.”

Source URL: https://www.metalconstructionnews.com/articles/future-oriented-science-education/

---