Sill Hall

Desiring to create spaces supporting 21st century pedagogies while fostering the growth of engineering at EMU, the College of Technology chose to renovate Sill Hall to become the home for the departments of mechanical and electrical engineering. With the building and teaching spaces reaching the end of their useful lives, only the existing concrete structure will remain. Within the newly re-clad building, along with a small addition to the south, several new classrooms and teaching labs are being developed to support each program. The goal for each lab is to be as flexible as possible while still maintaining enough infrastructure to support specific functions such as circuit soldering or fluid dynamics experiments. This flexibility will allow for new programs to occupy any of the labs as the programs expand.

Prior to the renovation, the building was much more instructor-focused, with labs and classrooms occupying every available square inch of the facility with faculty offices hidden away from students. The new renovation changes this by distributing student focused spaces such as study pods, a kitchenette, break-out rooms, and other social spaces throughout. Additionally, administration is distributed throughout the building, connecting them more directly with campus goings-on. Once out of view from students, two new faculty office suites are centrally located to promote student / instructor collaboration. Even the new Academic Advising suite is located directly adjacent to the large student commons located in the new south addition.