GG Brown Mechanical Engineering

Over the course of several years, research labs had taken over the majority of the building that was once home to the Department of Mechanical Engineering. This created a condition where all of the academic spaces for this department had been scattered across campus creating a disjointed experience for students and visitors. In an effort to correct this, the department set out to renovate this building with two main goals in mind.

Goal number one was to put engineering on display so that students, parents, visitors, and even prospective students could see the exciting work that was once hidden behind concrete block walls and spread across campus.

The second goal would be to create a new home for the Department of Mechanical Engineering bringing researchers, students, faculty, and administrative staff into one main location.

In order to achieve these goals, renovation had to be precise due to the limited budget and the need to keep the many research labs active. The 3D plan views to the right show a color coded extent of renovation. While the entire building would receive complete replacement of the mechanical and electrical infrastructure, the circulation and offices shaded in aqua would also receive only cosmetic updates. Research labs shaded in blue would benefit from minor renovation including some slight reconfiguration, while the academic core shown shaded in orange would be completely reconfigured to satisfy the two main goals.