Eastland Fairfield Engineering Technology Center

Project Narrative

Set within a suburban campus southeast of Columbus, the new Engineering Technologies Center uses a simple material palette to highlight the relationship between the spaces for the students and those for the community. The minimal volumes provide a base on which the fluctuating roof datum sits, which shapes both a bold relationship to the surrounding campus and the dynamic community spaces inside.

The simple palette extends to the clean, straightforward organization of the plan. The student-centered labs, classrooms, and small group rooms are organized by area of study in such a way that each is easily accessible and readily identifiable from the main entrance at the center of the building. Each student space is granted daylight through the strategic placement of clerestory windows and sloped or exposed ceilings.

The distinctive interior palette of colors is an expression of the four unique programs offered in the building; welding, pre-engineering, mechatronics, and aviation. Students are given hands-on experience in each of the dedicated lab spaces and have the opportunity to collaborate between the interconnected labs. The classrooms provide quiet spaces of instruction with access to computers and presentation materials. And the small group rooms offer unique break-out spaces for 4-6 students to focus on group work away from their peers, yet visually accessible for the teachers from the classroom or the adjacent circulation space. Additional break-out spaces are tucked into the niches of the circulation between the group rooms and access points for the classrooms and labs. These can be used by the students throughout the academic day for coursework or socialization.

                                           

Project Details

Submission Category

Building Architecture- Large Scale (>10,000 sf)

Date of Completion

October, 2021