Winner of American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) Nebraska 2013 Engineering Excellence Award!

The existing circular shape of the science pod of offices, labs, and lecture hall posed a challenge for updating the facility. The pie shaped rooms were retained but were each made larger by moving the interior ring of walls closer to the center. The central circular room that served as a lab prep and storage area is now the central student lounge and work area. It allows for students to have a comfortable, quiet lounge, a study space, a place for project collaboration, and social interaction.

The four labs were designed to be flexible to allow multi-use of the classrooms and more efficient use of the space. The utilities (gas, vacuum, power and data) are accessed overhead using quick-connect components for each work surface. The tables are designed to allow easy rearrangement to suit each professor’s teaching style. Each lab now meets current code and safety standards thereby providing students a safe learning environment.

The new classroom is designed as an active learning classroom setting. The room is arranged with several round tables and a podium, all of which can be rearranged to facilitate collaborative learning. Several flat panel displays can be used to present student and teach work through state of the art technology. The room also features 5 white boards placed around the
room for further shared learning activities.