Owner/Client: The Catholic University of America
Interior and partial exterior remodeling of existing c 1940, Type 2B 2800 sf building to update use for Catholic university of America, school of engineering classroom use and to provide attached research and laboratory area. Upgrades included accessible features under IEBC requirements, exterior canopy, storefront system and vision-light garage door, interior remodeling of classroom study space, bathrooms and conference room, lighting and HVAC upgrades.
Design Center Takes Shape by CUA Engineer(newspaper)
In 2010, the School of Engineering launched a plan to renovate the existing McCarrthy Building, located to the rear of Pangborn Hall and primarily unused over the past decade, into a state-of-the-art engineering design space_ Hans were approved by the University in fall 2011 and preliminary renovations began in winter 2012. The engineering design center complements and builds on the school’s practical, hands-on engineering curriculum and state of-the art faculty research in which students learn how to design, develop, and build complex systems that meet the needs of contemporary society_
‘This is an exciting venture for the School of Engineering,” says Binh Tran assistant dean for engineering_ the renovations have been designed by Norman Smith Architecture, reports Tran, “It has been a pleasure working with them. They have taken our needs and Core values of inspiration, creativity, and collaboration and designed a space that I believe student will really love.”
The engineering design center, which is unnamed as yet, features space allocated for 15 to 20 senior design workstations, fully equipped with high speed computers and design, modeling, and simulation, data acquisition, and instrumentation software. The center has a dedicated conference and meeting room as well as a nearly 600-square-foot machine shop and fabrication facility. Intended to simulate a real-world professional environment, the design center will facilitate interdisciplinary design teams across engineering
programs, which will foster and enhance team and leadership skills among students.
“We expect the new facility to enhance the quality and sophistication of senior design projects, be an inviting space for engineering students, and further improve the success of the annual senior design day symposium,’ Tran says.
A groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility will take place in fall 2012.