BERKLEY, Michigan, February 17, 2010 – SHW Group, one of the nation’s largest architecture and engineering firms specializing in design for the education sector, has hired nine new staff members at its Berkley, Michigan, studio.  They are as follows: Matthew Paterson as electrical engineer; Brian Harte as lead electrical engineer; Joe Mitra as senior project architect; Scott Morgan as mechanical engineer; Philip Leader as MEP group manager; Steven Jelinek as project architect; Paul Farquharson as project architect; Kelli Johnston as interior designer and Amanda Coburn as mechanical engineer intern.

As electrical engineer, Matthew Paterson is working on Eastern Michigan University’s Pray-Harrold Classroom Building and other electrical design projects for SHW.  Matthew is a graduate of Wayne State University.

As lead electrical engineer, Brian Harte, P.E., will be working on SHW’s design of many Michigan higher-education engineering projects. With more than 25 years of engineering experience, Brian holds a bachelor’s of science degree in electrical engineering from Michigan State University.

Joe Mitra, AIA, has joined SHW Group as a senior project architect.  Joe has more than 25 years experience in the architecture industry. He is a graduate of the University of Detroit.

As mechanical engineer, Scott Morgan, P.E., will be assisting on several mechanical design projects for SHW Group. Scott graduated from The University of Michigan.

Philip Leader, P.E. has joined SHW Group as vice president and MEP group manager. Prior to SHW Group, Phil spent more than 20 years at an architecture firm in Detroit, most recently serving as vice president and director of mechanical engineering. Phil has worked with multiple clients in the university, commercial and healthcare sectors, including General Motors, Providence Hospital, The University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Michigan Health Systems and Detroit Public Schools.  He is a graduate of The University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.

Steven Jelinek, LEED^® AP, has been hired as an intern architect and is currently working on SHW’s design of the new Library of the Future at Grand Valley State University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Lawrence Technological University and a master’s degree in architecture from The University of Michigan.

Paul Farquharson has joined SHW as an intern architect.  In this position, he will be working on multiple higher-education projects.  He holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Lawrence Technological University.

Kelli Johnston has joined SHW as an interior designer.  She holds a bachelor’s of fine arts degree in interior design from Kendall College of Art and Design,  is NCIDQ-Certified (National Council for Interior Design Qualification), and is a member of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).

Finally, Amanda Coburn has joined SHW Group as a new mechanical engineering intern for the winter term.  She currently attends Kettering University.

Combined, the nine new employees hold degrees from eight different universities in Michigan, a testament to the quality and strength of Michigan’s higher-education institutions as well as the diversity of knowledge at SHW Group.

About SHW Group

SHW Group, LLC a Michigan-based architectural and engineering firm is one of the state’s leading educational design firms. More than just an A/E firm, the company is known for its comprehensive collaboration with educators, and researchers to design innovative facilities that support the learning process. For more information about SHW Group, please visit www.shwgroup.com or follow the firm on Twitter at http://twitter.com/shwgroup.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

Completed in 2008, the $33 million school offers career-focused and technical “cross-collaborative” education for 11th-and-12th-grade students

PLANO, TEXAS, February 9, 2010 – Frisco Independent School District’s $33 million Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center has been honored with the national 2010 Shirley Cooper Award, which is presented annually to architecturally significant educational projects that best meet the educational needs of its students. The award is hosted by the American Association of School Administrators (AASA), the American Institute of Architects and the Council of Education Facility Planners’ International Architectural Jury.

The CTE Center opened in the fall of 2008 and was designed by Plano, Texas-based SHW Group, one of the nation’s largest architecture and engineering firms that specializes in design for the K-12 and higher education sectors. The school will be honored at an awards ceremony at AASA’s 2010 National Conference on Education in Phoenix. This is SHW Group’s second Shirley Cooper Award. In 2001, the firm was honored for its design of Roy Lee Walker Elementary School in McKinney, Texas.

Part of the Frisco Independent School District, the 125,618-square-foot CTE Center is a school- of-choice facility where college-bound and career-bound 11th-and-12th-grade students engage in a cross-collaborative experience that merges real-world professional environments with educational programs.

“To be recognized at an international level by educators, facility planners and architects sends a strong external message about the talent and knowledge of our design team. The project was also significant internally because it defined a new project approach for us—we became an extension of the Frisco ISD. As a result, the CTE center has become a model for the approach we take on all of our projects,” said Jimmy Strohmeyer, managing principal of SHW Group. “Long before the CTE Center project hit the drawing boards, our firm engaged with school administrators, community businesses and corporate partners to craft a vision for the facility. That vision was substantiated through insightful research that included school tours nationwide, end-user surveys and consultation from colleges and businesses.”

The contemporary two-story structure was designed to consolidate the resources across multiple campuses within a single building. Thus, it allows students to explore their interests and focus on possible job options. As a result, the tools, environment and curriculum the students are exposed to closely resemble what they will experience in the real world as young adults. For example, the center offers a full-service restaurant, credit union/bank, a court room for mock trials, TV and radio studios, computer and animation labs, an architecture lab, marketing and media centers, medical and veterinary science labs, a warehouse, a copy center and a mail room. A 4,000-square-foot greenhouse was also constructed to support the horticulture curriculum.

SHW Group also designed the center to offer unique “cross-collaborative” opportunities.  For example, students from the marketing program team up with students from the TV and radio programs to write, shoot and edit television ads promoting sales and other activities. These ads, as well as other content created by CTE Center students, are displayed on a two-story flat screen media wall located in the center’s centralized atrium. With the ability to divide into 15 screens, this wall inspires student interest in the various programs and facilitates communication among students, teachers, administrators and the community.

Since its completion, SHW Group has been honored with several awards for its design excellence for the Frisco CTE Center, including:

• Outstanding Secondary School construction award in TASA/TASB’s school architecture competition, recognized in all six categories: value, process of planning, design, educational appropriateness, innovation and sustainability;
• 2009 Terrazzo Honor Award from the National Terrazzo and Mosaic Association, given to 14 of the best mosaic or faux-marble floorings in the country;
• Silver Citation for common areas from American School and University;
• Recognition as an innovative school in American School and University; and,
• Momentum Award in the Workforce Catalyst Category from the Dallas Regional Chamber.

“Winning the Shirley Cooper Award validates what we’ve known about the Frisco CTE all along — that it’s a great example of what districts can achieve when planning, educational vision and design all come together,” said principal-in-charge Trey Laird. “The real reward is hearing about the success students are having in their project work—the stories are unprecedented and highlight a program that gives kids a chance to define what they want to do after high school, be it a career or college.”

“As a result, everyone wants a tour,” Laird continues. “The district has welcomed many educators, architects, government officials and business leaders inside the facility for a first-hand look of an all-around extraordinary learning environment.”

For more information about SHW Group, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424

Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

PLANO, Texas, February 4, 2010 — Further demonstrating the firm’s commitment to providing clients with high-quality architecture for the education sector, SHW Group’s North Texas Region has officially announced Jimmy Strohmeyer as a managing principal. Strohmeyer previously held the title of principal in charge which he accepted in 1999. He began his career with the firm in 1994 as an assistant project manager for school district clients including the Rockwall ISD, Lewisville ISD, Highland Park ISD and Plano ISD.

“Jimmy’s obvious leadership qualities were why he was named managing principal for our North Texas studio,” says Kyle Bacon, chief operating officer for SHW Group. “He successfully manages the studio’s operations, as well as new business and strategic planning for the region. Throughout his career, he has strived to contribute to the future of children in America, and he looks for any opportunity to make an impact by creating learning environments that foster discovery.”

Strohmeyer joined the firm after working as a project manager and team leader at BSW International in Tulsa, Okla., where he managed a project team responsible for producing $2 billion annually in construction. In 1990, he earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from Louisiana Tech University, and through the years, he has been involved with numerous education and community organizations, including the YMCA, Rotary, Kiwanis and PTA. Strohmeyer also was nominated and selected as a finalist for the 2006 Superintendent’s Award of Outstanding Character and Citizenship for his “exemplary citizenship and service to others” in recognition for his response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina.

“Throughout his years at SHW Group, Jimmy has served the firm and its clients with a passion and dedication that are exemplary examples to his colleagues,” said Jonathan Aldis, principal in charge for the North Texas studio. “He also possesses a way of building consensus and inspiring others to do their very best which has major implications for the future of our firm and the North Texas studio.”

For more information about SHW Group, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424

Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

SHW Group designed Gloria Marshall Elementary School to meet LEED and Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS) criteria; Has already been accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to receive an ENERGY STAR rating due to its energy-efficient building design

HOUSTON, January 25, 2010 – SHW Group’s Houston studio, one of the world’s largest educational architecture and design firms, has completed the design for the new “green” two story, 105,000-square-foot Gloria Marshall Elementary School for the Spring Independent School District near Houston. Currently under construction, the new school will open in August 2010. It will be the first school in Houston to use geothermal heating and cooling, which is expected to save at least 25 percent in energy consumption over the current code.

The school was designed to achieve Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification and has already been accepted by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to receive an ENERGY STAR rating due to its energy-efficient building design. In addition, SHW Group designed it to meet criteria for Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS), the nation’s first green building rating program especially designed for K-12 schools. The mission of the CHPS is to facilitate the design, construction and operation of high performance schools— environments that are not only energy and resource efficient, but also healthy, comfortable, well lit and containing the amenities for a quality education.

“Spring ISD considered repeating an existing floor plan for Gloria Marshall Elementary School,” said Jody L. Henry, LEED AP, project manager for SHW Group. “During the design process, the district questioned SHW Group about daylighting, energy efficiency and water conservation. That discussion led SHW to produce a green design concept.”

In order to save the district additional construction costs and also deliver a school that responded to the district’s needs and intentions, SHW Group re-designed the plan, transforming it into a two-story, sustainable, high-performance school, without adding any additional costs to the district’s capital budget.

Once complete, Gloria Marshall Elementary School will be a rectangular building oriented with long sides facing north and south. Each classroom will have natural light and the south-facing classrooms will take advantage of daylight harvesting. In addition, the building was designed to have lights off in the classrooms 75 percent of the time, so each room will have sensors that turns the lights on and off based on the levels of natural light in the room.

The entry to the building will be alongside a science garden and eco-pond that includes an above-ground cistern and a water trough. These can be used to teach children integrated concepts about math and science that allow for real-world experiences. Under the parking lot and playgrounds is a geothermal well field that will house a system of tubes and valves that take hot and cold water in and out of the building. Through the use of a web-based learning tool, students will be able to interact with the building systems and know the temperature of the water as it leaves the building and when it returns from deep in the earth.

Additional green features include a highly reflective white-colored roof, an on-site wind turbine, 10,000-kilowatts of roof-mounted photovoltaic cells (which will convert sunlight directly into electricity), a butterfly garden along a walking trail, and an underground cistern that will collect rainwater from the roof and be used to flush toilets and urinals. Also, trees from the existing site will be reused in the building as desks, benches and conference room tables.  The school will also use less water by having no irrigation and many of the materials used for its construction will be made with recycled content or made of rapidly renewable resources.  With all of these sustainable amenities, the school itself will act as a tool for teaching and for learning.

“Spring ISD has been a fast-growing school district for several years, and we have a philosophy that ‘instruction drives construction.’ We are excited about the opportunities this new school will provide for our students to learn about conserving resources,” said Dr. Ralph H. Draper, Spring ISD superintendent.

“There is no greater advantage to a LEED school than using it as a teaching tool for our next generation,” added Henry.

For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424

The educational architecture firm was honored for its design of projects at Central Michigan University and Jackson Community College

DETROIT, January 11, 2010 – SHW Group has been honored with two 2009 Honor Awards from the Detroit Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) for the firm’s design of Central Michigan University’s (CMU) College of Education and Human Services Building in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, and Jackson Community College’s (JCC) William Atkinson Hall Information and Technology Center (ITC) in Jackson, Michigan. SHW also recently received a 2009 Citation of Excellence for its design of the JCC project in Learning By Design magazine, an annual publication of innovative school design.

The SHW Group projects were two of 11 projects to receive this year’s award from more than 40 total entries the jury reviewed, which consisted of a panel of distinguished architects headed by Rob Pfaffmann, AIA, President of Pfaffmann + Associates, Pittsburgh, PA. The winning projects and architects were recently honored at an awards program where recognition plaques were presented to the firms who created the work because “it is the architect’s ability and skill that gives it an aesthetic and practical merit and to the building owners whose cooperation and understanding of the work made it possible,” according to Detroit AIA.

CMU’s College of Education and Human Services Building

Completed in June 2009, the $50-million, four-story, 137,000-square-foot College of Education and Human Services Building at CMU enhances the ability of the school to meet the learning needs of its students, the instructional needs of its faculty and the functional needs of its supporting staff. The design process began in early 2006 and called for state-of-the-art academic instructional spaces, classrooms, labs, a child development center, as well as staff, faculty and departmental offices.

The College of Education at Central Michigan University prepares teachers to teach in the 21^st-century learning environment. To that end, the building functions as a learning tool to educate children and college students. All senses were explored in the crafting of the building bringing texture, light, smell and color to the forefront of design. The child development labs are exceptional examples. Positioned on the southern side of the building for rich daylight, the development program provides an immersive learning environment. Children are complex and learn and grow in a multitude of ways. A rich color pallet derived from nature complements the natural woods and slate stone featured in the space. Light is central to learning in this space. The large windows also engage the children; their paintings on transparent film when hung on the glass lets sunlight pass through the art transferring color into the room. This integral relationship of the architecture and pedagogy creates a cohesive way for children to connect with the world through their senses. The outdoor learning environment immediately adjacent to the children’s lab utilizes rich textures and materials. Through gardening and play, the children manipulate this microclimate while stimulating and fostering different ways of interpreting reality and a critical awareness of our world.

“The College of Education and Human Services Building is a testament of our firm’s integrated design approach,” said Tod Stevens, AIA, LEED AP+, principal at SHW Group. “This one project features everything, from its dark slate exterior, ventilated wall system made of terra-cotta rain screen panels and displacement ventilation to its beautiful recycled tiles, bamboo walls and classrooms with 12-foot wall-to-wall windows and integrated sun screens. These design elements demonstrate how this truly is a one-of-a-kind facility. SHW Group is proud to be associated with a project that brings unprecedented opportunities that are rich with innovative technologies and engaging learning and teaching environments for its students and faculty.”

“The project takes a deep program and plan of multiple collaborative departments and creates a clear cohesive whole. The breakdown of the building massing using contrasting recycled and sustainable materials provides a substantial expression of the collaborative spatial organization within. The building is a bold expression in space and material of the college’s commitment to high-quality collaborative learning environments,” said the Detroit AIA jury panel.

JCC’s William Atkinson Hall Information and Technology Center

The $16.5-million, two-story, 53,000-square-foot William Atkinson Hall Information and Technology Center (ITC) at JCC was completed in August 2007. It is considered the foundation for a new renaissance at the college and is an innovative approach to multiple academic programs, resulting in a new hybrid building. This building merges the library, information commons, student lounge, flexible classrooms and multiple staff offices into a single structure. The ITC is the academic center for the college and provides state-of-the-art services to the surrounding community. The new multipurpose informational and instructional building provides for the needs of 21st-century learners, researchers and community members alike.

“Conceptually, the structure provides for the relocation and expansion of the existing college library and college information technology programs, as well as providing space for new instructional program development,” said Janice Suchan, AIA, LEED AP, principal at SHW Group. “The design successfully creates a strong individual presence for the ITC without disrupting the fabric of the campus. It is also a strong new symbol for the college, as the material selection took cues from many of the original buildings. These materials—brick, glass and wood panels—were expressed in a contemporary and refreshing manner, resulting in a handsome addition to the college community.”

“The project transforms a late modern campus while creating a dynamic new space for the college. By taking cues from many of the original buildings, the existing buildings are given new life. The exterior design opens the internal program and commons to views and makes critical visual connections to adjacent buildings,” said the Detroit AIA jury panel.

ABOUT SHW GROUP

SHW Group, LLC, a Michigan-based architectural and engineering firm, is one of the state’s leading educational design firms. More than just an A/E firm, the company is known for its comprehensive collaboration with educators and researchers to design innovative facilities that support the learning process. For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

ABOUT AIA DETROIT CHAPTER

The American Institute of Architects Detroit, headed by Mark Nickita, AIA, of Birmingham, is a chapter of the 83,000 member national organization. The mission of the Honor Awards program is two fold, 1) to show the public “What Architects Do” and to inform about the value and importance of architectural excellence and 2) to enable architects to better understand notable achievements so that excellence becomes the standard.

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Media Contact: Nicole Traycoff
ntraycoff@shwgroup.com, (214) 473-2424

Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214)329-9191

Designed by architects Robert Winstead and Peter O’Shea, the Charlottesville Community Chalkboard and Podium is an interactive monument celebrating free expression and was designed to honor the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA, August 4, 2009 - The 54-foot Community Chalkboard and Podium monument, located in front of the Charlottesville City Hall and adjacent to the civic amphitheatre in Charlottesville, Virginia, has been honored with two design awards for architectural excellence – a 2009 Silver Medal Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence and a 2009 Inform Honor Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA).  Designed by architect Robert Winstead of SHW Group and landscape architect Pete O’ Shea of Siteworks, LLC, the interactive monument celebrates free expression and was built to honor the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Creating a tangible and enduring embodiment of the concept of free expression, the monument consists primarily of a two-sided wall of Buckingham slate, approximately 54 feet long (108′ of writing space) by 7.5 feet high, on which members of the public may express their views, in chalk, on any subject they choose. Permanently inscribed on one segment of the wall is the text of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. On the immediate opposite side is the following quote by the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall:

“Above all else, the First Amendment means that government has no power to restrict expression because of its message, its ideas, its subject matter, or its content. To permit the continued building of our politics and culture, and to assure self-fulfillment for each individual, our people are guaranteed the right to express any thought, free from government censorship.”

In addition, the monument’s design includes a podium intended to serve as a contemporary soapbox from which individuals may address both planned and impromptu public gatherings. Inscribed on the surface of the podium is the following quote by poet John Milton:

“Give me the liberty to know, to utter, and to argue freely according to conscience, above all liberties.”

With the completion of the monument in April 2006, the entire area outside Charlottesville City Hall became a First Amendment plaza unique among the cities of the United States – the “chalkboard” for written and artistic expression, the platform for verbal expression, and the amphitheater for musical expression.

“The monument’s greatest strength lies in the fact that it is both a fixed symbol of the right of free expression and a venue for the exercise of that right,” said Robert Winstead, AIA, LEED-AP, lead architect for the Charlottesville Community Chalkboard and Podium and design principal of SHW Group, one of the largest educational architecture firms in the U.S. “Individuals use the chalkboard to express ideas both political and whimsical, to respond to ideas already on the wall, to convey messages to members of city government, and to create temporary works of art.”

As with all chalkboards, what is written the monument’s chalkboard is constantly changing. The monument’s slate is cleaned in its entirety twice a week on a regularly scheduled basis. Private citizens may also clean all or part of the slate at anytime. Such cleaning does not implicate the First Amendment because it is not government action.

ABOUT THE RUDY BRUNER AWARD FOR URBAN EXCELLENCE

The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence is a national award for urban places that seeks to promote fresh and innovative thinking about cities and the urban built environment. Established in 1987, the Rudy Bruner Award celebrates urban places that are distinguished by quality design and by their social, economic, and environmental contributions to our nation’s cities. For more information, please visit www.brunerfoundation.org.

ABOUT THE VIRGINIA SOCIETY AIA

The American Institute of Architects is a professional society with component organizations at the national, state and local levels. The Virginia Society is a state component of the AIA, focused on delivering value to architects with statewide impact. Since 1914, the Virginia AIA has represented the professional interests of architects and allied professionals in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Society works in collaboration with five local chapters – Blue Ridge, Central Virginia, Hampton Roads, Northern Virginia, and Richmond. These six components join with West Virginia in forming the Region of the Virginia to elect a representative director to the national AIA board. Together with the national component and components across the country, we form one AIA. For more information, please visit www.virginiaarchitecture.org.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

$13 million bond allows for renovations of school district’s elementary, middle and high school campuses

NIXON, TEXAS, July 28, 2009 - SHW Group’s San Antonio studio has been selected by the Nixon-Smiley Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) as the architect for the renovations and additions of the district’s elementary, middle and high school campuses. The projects are part of a $13 million bond package passed in May 2009 to address aging facilities, educational program needs and enrollment growth.

The bond package consists of instructional and technological upgrades, renovations and additions, including the construction of new libraries, classrooms and a field house. The plan also calls for the switching of the elementary and middle school campuses to alleviate overcrowding and allow the schools to share programs, staff and facilities.  Nixon-Smiley CISD is a small, rural school district located in a central Texas farming community, serving 1,000 students from seven towns encompassing 376 square miles.

“This is a small school district where the average home value is $35,000-$40,000,” said Dr. Cathy Booth, superintendent of Nixon-Smiley CISD. “Most people thought it would be impossible to pass this bond during these difficult economic times, so we are very fortunate. We are looking forward to upgrading the facilities for all the citizens, parents and students of Nixon-Smiley CISD.”

SHW Group’s San Antonio studio was selected to design the school district’s facility upgrades, which include:

• Renovating and updating the current Nixon-Smiley Middle School campus to support the future Nixon-Smiley Elementary School, including repairing leaking roofs, demolishing the structurally unsafe auditorium, replacement of its deteriorating cafeteria, upgrading the technology infrastructure, and the construction of new classrooms, a new library and a new kitchen;
• Updating the current Nixon-Smiley Elementary campus to accommodate the future Nixon-Smiley Middle School, including upgrading the technology infrastructure and the construction of new classrooms, new restrooms and a new multi-purpose room;
• Renovating and updating the Nixon-Smiley High School campus including repairing leaky roofs and upgrading instructional spaces to comply with mandated curriculum requirements;
• Replacing the structurally damaged Nixon-Smiley High School library building with an up-to-date library that includes appropriate technology and square footage to implement required educational programs;
• The construction of a new high school field house for PE classes and athletics.

In addition to providing design services, SHW Group worked with Cambridge Strategic Services, a strategic planning/consulting firm for organizations and school districts worldwide, to assist the district with their public relations bond campaign. For more information about SHW Group, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

ARLINGTON, Texas, July 23, 2009 - SHW Group, one of the world’s largest educational architecture and design firms, has completed the design for the new three-story, 120,000-square-foot Science and Academic Building at Tarrant County College District’s (TCCD) Southeast Campus, located in Arlington, Texas. Turner Construction Company’s Dallas office was selected as the general contractor.

Once complete in late 2010, the new building will have a new 150-200 student lecture hall, student gathering areas, general purpose classrooms, back-to-back teaching science laboratories, a common prep area that will be shared by all teaching groups, and a large, three-story atrium space that will offer flexible hard and soft seating for students to gather between classes.

Aiming for LEED Gold certification, the new Science and Academic Building is an addition to TCCD’s Southeast Campus, merging the campus’ Life and Computer Science programs and serving as a model for interdisciplinary facilities through its approach to planning, site and the environment.  It was ultimately designed to create a new identity for the campus and to serve as a destination for students who are commuters at the college.

Following TCCD’s master plan, this first step towards a multi-building institution frames a new campus axis and science/technology corridor.  The site, along an east/west axis adjacent to the original campus structure, allows for significant reduction in solar heat gain and invites large expanses of glass along the north and south facades. This glass also provides daylighting into all interior academic and student spaces. Deep sculptural fins on the east and west facades create a dramatic building expression and effective sun control. In addition, the building’s cantilevered structure provides shaded exterior study spaces and circulation, as well as reduced heat gain and glare on the ground floor glass.

“The building’s materials take its cue from the original structure — complementing the campus’ existing fabric while expressing contemporary notions, craft and purposefulness,” said Deb Ebersole, project manager at SHW Group.  ”The design invites collaboration between the various disciplines within the building through a central multi-story gathering and circulation space, as well as smaller group study areas located throughout the building and in its surrounding landscape.”

The integration of landscape creates a dynamic extension of the building with a variety of exterior study, gathering and social spaces. An assortment of Live Oak trees complement the sculptural east façade and provide a shaded plaza between the two buildings, while flowering shade trees and sitting areas along the building also invite student and faculty use and communion. This merging of landscape and architecture combined with the use of drought resistant, indigenous plantings and trees reinforce the importance of both to successful campus architecture and planning.

For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

]]> http://www.coopersmithagency.com/2009/07/shw-group-completes-design-of-120000-sf-science-and-academic-building-for-tarrant-county-college-in-north-texas-designed-to-achieve-leed-gold-certification/feed/ 0 http://www.coopersmithagency.com/2009/07/midwestern-state-university-unveils-23000-sf-mccoy-school-of-engineering-facility-in-wichita-falls-texas/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=midwestern-state-university-unveils-23000-sf-mccoy-school-of-engineering-facility-in-wichita-falls-texas http://www.coopersmithagency.com/2009/07/midwestern-state-university-unveils-23000-sf-mccoy-school-of-engineering-facility-in-wichita-falls-texas/#comments Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:57:11 +0000 nina http://coopersmithagency.com/?p=772 SHW Group served as the project’s architect, redesigning the interior, exterior and adding a new sustainable landscape design to an original MWSU building

WICHITA FALLS, Texas, July 16, 2009 - Midwestern State University’s (MWSU)  McCoy School of Engineering at Fowler Hall in Wichita Falls, Texas – a renovated $6.2 million, 23,000-square-foot multipurpose academic building – has been completed and is an adaptive reuse of one of MWSU’s original buildings. Designed by Dallas-based SHW Group, one of the world’s largest educational architecture and design firms, the new McCoy School of Engineering building includes a complete renovation of the interior and exterior, in addition to a new landscape design.

The interior renovation incorporated advancing the engineering facilities, including three high bay laboratories for robotics, invention and senior design. Other renovated laboratories include physics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, machine dynamics, measurement and instrumentation, fluid power and materials science. In addition, state-of-the-art classrooms, department and faculty offices, and collaboration areas were created. Additionally, new “study pods” — which overhang into the labs — provide a fully interactive and collaborative work environment for the students and staff. The surfaces of the pods become moving walls of information as projection and writing surfaces alter the façades throughout time.

The renovation also included a translucent glass box that cuts through the exterior of the building creating a vessel of light and a bold expression of function and spirit. The lantern’s modern detailing provides a sharp contrast to the traditional expression of the original building. The box creates a glowing top-lite volume which showcases three major labs and a design studio in the center of the building causing the building’s center to be filled with light.

“The design concept for the engineering building was constructed around the idea of a ‘light box,’ so the architecture represents a beacon at night,” said Eric Miller, project designer for SHW Group. “Both the exterior and interior designs of the building are also representative of the engineering program itself – ‘a living learning lab’ – since the school’s engineering program analyzes stress materials. The terra cotta blocks, masonry unit, natural light, etc., express the raw nature of material relative to the engineering program.”

The exterior renovation responded to the provision of high bay spaces, as well as to ensure the integrity of the original Fowler Hall. For example, the new landscape plan was driven by the existing pattern of student movements throughout campus and the development of student gathering spaces as an extension of the interior learning environment. The use of indigenous plant species, custom fabricated seating and new walking surfaces were also employed to introduce a new language of landscape onto the campus, thus reinvigorating the importance of landscape fabric to the university.

“The architectural expression inside and out will highlight the work of the students in the laboratories, especially their designs and creations,” said Jeff Sharpe, principal of SHW Group’s higher ed studio. “For instance, we decided to leave the construction markings on the materials to convey the process of design through assembly. With these unique touches, the building echoes the university’s commitment to the engineering program while allowing the students’ programmatic requirements and needs to be met in an inexpensive manner.”

In addition to SHW Group as the lead architect, Jose I. Guerra Associates served as the civil, structural and MEP engineer, while Imperial Construction, Ltd. served as the project’s general contractor. For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com or www.mwsu.edu.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191

GREENVILLE, Texas, June 29, 2009 – The focal point of Paris Junior College’s new campus in Greenville, Texas – a new $13 million, 42,000-square-foot multipurpose academic building – is complete. It is the first facility in the college’s multi-phase campus plan, sited on a 172-acre tract recently retired from the agricultural business and adjacent to several community amenities. Dallas-based SHW Group, one of the world’s largest educational architecture and design firms, developed the campus’ master plan and designed the building, while Dallas-based Charter Builders was responsible its construction.

The new two-story facility serves up to 2,500 students and contains flexible, technology-enabled classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, a library, administrative offices, and a large meeting room that can also be used as a classroom.  It is located on land just west of Greenville High School at 6500 Monty Stratton Blvd. in Greenville, Texas.

The siting of the campus’ master plan considered identity and sense of place for the first building and subsequent buildings, providing a visual gateway to Greenville from the neighboring freeway.  The main goal was to provide a long-range, sustainable plan for a campus of up to 7,000 students while ensuring the short-term goal of developing a multipurpose educational building to meet current needs. The master plan helped the college locate this first building, designed to be converted to a classroom building once support functions are located in new facilities. Additional planning and design goals include:

• Restoration of the site to a more natural state, including integration of an existing flood plain and reintroduction of native plant species.
• Incorporation of indoor and outdoor learning environments to enhance the landscape and provide a more dynamic beginning to the campus.
• Planning of the flexible, technology-enabled classroom building on a classroom-sized module to allow easy, inexpensive conversion to a classroom building in later phases of the plan.
• Collaboration with the City of Greenville and other public entities to provide for commercial growth, a gateway to the city, and future community projects.
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“We will offer several different academic and technical classes at the new student-focused campus,” said Paris Junior College president Dr. Pamela Anglin. “Our new campus gives us – and the community – greater flexibility to do more in the future.” For more information, please visit www.shwgroup.com.

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Media Contact: Claire Bloxom
claire@coopersmithagency.com, (214) 329-9191