Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center

Merit Award // Excellence in Architecture Design

Architect // HGA

GC // Turner Construction Company

MEP/FP Engineer // Van Zelm

Civil/Survey Engineer // Engineering Ventures

Structural Engineer // LeMessurier

Geotechnical Engineer // Dartmouth

Audio/Visual Consultant // Cavanaugh Tocci

Landscape Architect // Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, Inc.

Building Envelope // Building Enclosure Associates

Cost Estimating // Turner Construction

Description

The LEED Platinum-certified Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center fulfills an acute space demand for innovative engineering and computer science research atDartmouth College. Programming includes teaching in biotech, energy technologies, cyber-security, and other areas of research that contribute to the advancement of knowledge and problem solving. The building's design fosters collaboration to promote synergies between fields that spark discovery and solutions to global science and engineering challenges. The central atrium forms the social hub of the Center, providing many collaboration and soft spaces. Interiors evoke openness and transparency, allowing researchers, students, and visitors to view the work happening within the labs. The building is designed to take advantage of the campus context of brick academic, research, and student residential life structures. Fitting comfortably within this context, the building reflects a balance between the expression of contemporary research environments and respect for traditional building typologies.

Jury Comments

Another forward-looking and distinct campus node to the same campus as Irving Institute, here juries were most impressed with the project’s interior spaces, in particular, the central atrium social hub space. 

The building’s bent-bar massing serves to break down the exterior scale of one of the campus’s largest buildings while creating a dynamic and theatrical interior space fostering interaction and collaboration. The interplay between exterior form and interior space is strong, creating perspectival drama reminiscent of the seemingly organic twists and turns a medieval piazza might take – daylighting, natural materials, an interesting vertical pathway meandering through the space, and an abundance of places to dwell and linger seem to deliver on providing a place where people want to be. 

With below-grade parking and loading dock, this project also makes significant investment towards making the campus more pedestrian friendly. All the while achieving LEED Platinum certification - in a building type which is challenging to do so, to say the least – achieving usage reductions of 35% in water and 55% in energy. 

The jury recognizes the Class of 1982 Engineering and Computer Science Center with a Merit Award.

Photo credit: Antin Grassl

College of Engineering, Technology and Aeronautics (CETA) Building

Honor Award // Excellence in Architecture Design

Architect // HGA

GC // Skansa

MEP/FP Engineer // Chris Shumway

Structural Engineer // Simon Design Engineers

Civil/Survey Engineer // TF Moran

Cost Estimating // Skanska

Lighting // HLB Lighting

Landscape Architect // Studio 2112

Building Envelope // Building Envelope Technology

Sustainability // The Green Engineer

Interiors // MoharDesign

Audio and Visual Consultant // Cavanaugh Tocci

Description

HGA designed The College of Engineering, Technology, and Aeronautics (CETA) building at Southern New Hampshire University to provide students with a place to design, experiment, and mentor one another, while paying homage to the rural landscape and vernacular architecture of the area. The 67,000SF building was design edas two barn volumes connected with a two-story lobby, overlooking the Merrimack River. It was designed with a new quad space at the heart of the campus to invite students in and highlight the University’s commitment to STEM disciplines. The spaces inside has CDIO(Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) hubs where students take projects from conception through operation. These hubs are based on the pedagogical goals of hands-on, project-based discovery. As universities re-imagine education delivery, CETA is a platform for the continuous exploration of multi-modal education, making STEM accessible to every learner.

Jury Comments

In the last of the selected projects, we have yet another dramatic campus transformation project. Jury members appreciated how this project connected to the campus fabric – an inviting form opens and welcomes in the campus context while framing yet another open inviting living room. Interior spaces varied from loftiness to having an abundance of nooks and crannies. The exterior design was one of the strongest, original use of materials the jury observed from the submissions in this category. While a number of submissions were observed offering a dash or two of inspiration from gabled barn-like structures and the modern farmhouse aesthetic, CETA’s exteriors pay homage to context in a way that was distinctively original and iconic. The chosen exterior cladding material honors natural surroundings, materially unifying roof and walls tonally and strengthening the overall massing. Rather than reflecting the often ubiquitous presence of red brick, the pivot to slate compliments its surroundings in a way the jury felt was truly a breath of fresh air and would withstand the test of time. From the project description:

“The building is inclusive to the entire community and gives a sense of safety, particularly to students that have been denied access to STEM education.”

The jury agrees and recognizes College of Engineering, Technology, and Aeronautics (CETA) Building with a Honor Award.

Photo credit: Anton Grassl