Slated for completion in 2010, the sustainable three-story building will have a 150-200 lecture hall, student gathering areas, general purpose classrooms, teaching science laboratories and more

ARLINGTON, Texas, July 23, 2009 – SHW Group, one of the world’s largest educational architecture and design firms, has completed the design for the new three-story, 120,000-square-foot Science and Academic Building at Tarrant County College District’s (TCCD) Southeast Campus, located in Arlington, Texas. Turner Construction Company’s Dallas office was selected as the general contractor.

Once complete in late 2010, the new building will have a new 150-200 student lecture hall, student gathering areas, general purpose classrooms, back-to-back teaching science laboratories, a common prep area that will be shared by all teaching groups, and a large, three-story atrium space that will offer flexible hard and soft seating for students to gather between classes.

Aiming for LEED Gold certification, the new Science and Academic Building is an addition to TCCD’s Southeast Campus, merging the campus’ Life and Computer Science programs and serving as a model for interdisciplinary facilities through its approach to planning, site and the environment.  It was ultimately designed to create a new identity for the campus and to serve as a destination for students who are commuters at the college.

Following TCCD’s master plan, this first step towards a multi-building institution frames a new campus axis and science/technology corridor.  The site, along an east/west axis adjacent to the original campus structure, allows for significant reduction in solar heat gain and invites large expanses of glass along the north and south facades. This glass also provides daylighting into all interior academic and student spaces. Deep sculptural fins on the east and west facades create a dramatic building expression and effective sun control. In addition, the building’s cantilevered structure provides shaded exterior study spaces and circulation, as well as reduced heat gain and glare on the ground floor glass.

“The building’s materials take its cue from the original structure — complementing the campus’ existing fabric while expressing contemporary notions, craft and purposefulness,” said Deb Ebersole, project manager at SHW Group.  “The design invites collaboration between the various disciplines within the building through a central multi-story gathering and circulation space, as well as smaller group study areas located throughout the building and in its surrounding landscape.”

The integration of landscape creates a dynamic extension of the building with a variety of exterior study, gathering and social spaces. An assortment of Live Oak trees complement the sculptural east façade and provide a shaded plaza between the two buildings, while flowering shade trees and sitting areas along the building also invite student and faculty use and communion. This merging of landscape and architecture combined with the use of drought resistant, indigenous plantings and trees reinforce the importance of both to successful campus architecture and planning.

For more information, please visit http://www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191