Texas A&M University engaged Stantec to plan and design Prairie View A&M University’s new Engineering Classroom and Research Building (EnCARB) to provide instructional and research labs for hands-on learning and research across engineering disciplines. They engaged Stantec to plan and design their new Engineering Classroom and Research Building (EnCARB), which provides instructional and research labs for hands-on learning and research across the civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering disciplines.
PVAMU’s vision for the facility embraced a cross-disciplinary approach to research, and consensus-building played a key role. We organized discovery workshops during all design phases by lab type instead of by department, which allowed our team to engage with and achieve a consensus from multiple departments simultaneously.
To further support the cross-disciplinary focus, we utilized modular planning principles for the labs. We optimized bench space in the wet labs and included specialty alcoves for fume hoods, biosafety cabinets, 3D-printing, laser tables, and biofermentation. The computational labs contain flexible space for reconfigurable workstations. The inclusion of smart manufacturing, materials, and device and sensor labs support a hybrid of both wet and computation research planning.
The project expanded instructional and research laboratory space for the College of Engineering and enhances student learning and growth in a future-focused learning environment.
