University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) College of Engineering, Academic and Research Building

This three-story, 50,000-square-foot facility for the College of Engineering is designed to include a large maker-space, student and faculty offices, wet and dry laboratories, an active learning classroom with a flexible auditorium, divisible classrooms, and a lobby.

The west bay and bridge connector on the second floor serve as faculty, post-doc, and graduate student office space. The center bay of the second floor is designated as enclosed laboratory support space, while the eastern bay functions as an open flexible lab with movable lab benches and desk space. The third floor is similarly organized; however, the lab space is designed as a wet lab. Fume hoods and sinks are installed in the center bay and along the west wall of the open lab to promote flexible lab bench arrangements, free from fixed utility connections.

The interior material palette achieves the aesthetic goals of creating a dynamic and enriching student environment while also projecting professional research excellence. Whenever possible, the building’s engineered systems are cleanly detailed and exposed to view to allow the building to serve as a teaching tool, with examples like the exposed steel cross-bracing and exposed ceilings. The material selection balances the aesthetic goals with the durability, maintainability, acoustical, and functional requirements of the spaces.

The new building is connected on the second floor to the Thomas Beam building’s third level, promoting shared usage of the existing Thomas Beam amenities.

The project was designed to LEED Silver standards and was a collaboration with partner design firm SmithGroup.

Features include:

1. Wet and dry laboratories
2. Second floor bridge connector
3. Flexible auditorium, laboratory and academic classroom spaces