Prairie View A&M University Debuts New Academic Building

Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, recently opened a new, three-story Engineering Classroom and Research Building (EnCARB), according to a news release. The 106,000-square-foot facility provides academic, research, and technical space for the university’s Roy G. Perry College of Engineering. The university partnered with integrated design and engineering firm Stantec for the project.

The new building features more than 30 labs for chemical, civil engineering, and mechanical departments, as well as multidisciplinary research in fields like space exploration, data analytics, robotics and artificial intelligence, 3D manufacturing, and more. It also includes built-in flexible spaces to support different pedagogies and a maker space.

“EnCARB will allow PVAMU to take their laboratory instruction and research pursuits to the next level with state-of-the-art facilities that are flexible by design and will allow them to be nimble and adapt in the fast-evolving field of engineering,” said Stantec principal Cynthia Labelle. “Students will learn and grow across many engineering disciplines in a future-focused learning environment.”

EnCARB will also be one of a small number of U.S. facilities to feature a microgravity drop tower for research regarding space-related conditions. Stantec has previously completed STEM-related facilities at universities like Yale, the University of Texas at Dallas, Central Michigan University, and the University of Texas at Permian Basin, according to the news release.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Photo courtesy of Kraus-Anderson

    Minnesota District Completes $49.7M Addition, Renovation Project

    St. Paul Public Schools in St. Paul, Minn., recently announced the completion of a $49.7-million addition and remodeling project at two district schools, according to a news release.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.