Bringing these collaborative, student-centered spaces to life requires an equally integrated approach behind the scenes. Maximizing the partnership afforded by the project’s progressive design-build delivery method, the team, including Coughlin Porter Lundeen’s structural engineers, updated a shared digital model in real time to jointly address challenges, such as locating the building on the hillside. Working with the steep slope reduced excavation; designing a tiered classroom follows the natural slope and sits at a higher elevation. This creates a functional learning space for students from varying programs, while avoiding digging into the basalt layer beneath the site. Experience from previous projects at WSU, such as Troy Hall and the PACCAR Environmental Technology Building, informed these solutions and avoided unnecessary complexity, saving costs that were reinvested into better architectural finishes.
Drawing on lessons from these past projects, the structural team’s early involvement set realistic budget expectations. Initial discussions around framing systems and design options guided strategic decisions, with conceptual studies used to map out feasible structural steel quantities and associated costs. BIM tracked the steel structure from concept through construction, acting as a tool to continuously refine early assumptions. Weekly check-ins gave the team a clear understanding of how material quantities shifted. Any changes were immediately discussed and resolved by reviewing alternative structural systems or reallocating resources to other areas of the building. The process resulted in the final steel quantity landing within one ton of the original estimate. It accounted for miscellaneous steel, connections, edge plates, and cladding support. The collaborative effort proves that early team alignment facilitates predictability to complex projects.
The building’s efficient structural layout emphasizes educational value with key elements intentionally exposed to offer opportunities for students to learn from engineering on display. Visible framing connections illustrate real world solutions, rather than vague concepts, to engineering and architecture students. The exposed structure features a hybrid system with concrete slabs, steel framing, and cross-laminated timber (CLT) ceiling panels. Packed into a 144’ perfect square footprint, uniform bay spacing enhances structural efficiency and simplifies load paths. Designing to standard bay sizes facilitates construction logistics by reducing steel fabrication costs and offering schedule savings for erecting the structure. As a result of the regular structural grid, predictable spans offer easier coordination with mechanical systems, resulting in flexible interior layouts to support versatile interdisciplinary classrooms, labs, and collaboration spaces.
