Team Behind Texas A&M Engineering Complex Gets Highest Award
The Zachry EEC is so unrecognizable since its transformation that many believe the original 300,000-square-foot building was demolished, but in fact, 80% of the original building was reused.
COLLEGE STATION, TX—The American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas/ACEC awarded JQ Engineering the Eminent Conceptor Award, the highest statewide engineering excellence award. The firm was recognized for its structural engineering work on the Zachry Engineering Education Complex renovation and expansion project at Texas A&M University, according to JQ’s CEO/partner Stephen H. Lucy.
“The Zachry EEC is a tremendous facility and positions TAMU to continue to fulfill its mission to educate the engineering leaders needed to meet the needs of the ever-expanding and diverse Texas economy,” Lucy tells GlobeSt.com. “The ACEC Texas award is a reflection of the efforts on the entire design, construction and owner team to provide an exceptional facility on time and on budget. I am especially proud of our team for the recognition of their innovative approaches which contributed so much to the success of the project.”
The Zachry project also earned JQ an ACEC Texas Gold Medal in the structural systems category and an ACEC national recognition award. As the structural engineer of record and a consultant to the prime firm TreanorHL, JQ was involved in the reimagining and expansion of the Zachry EEC, which is the cornerstone of the college of engineering on the campus of Texas A&M University.
In 2013, the Texas A&M University college of engineering launched the 25 By 25 initiative to enhance the quality of engineering education, to shape the engineer of the future and respond to the workforce needs of the industry. The college aimed to increase enrollment from 14,000 students in 2013 to 25,000 students by 2025 by transforming the engineering classroom into a 21st century model with a focus on technology-enabled learning, hands-on projects and collaborative multidisciplinary learning spaces.
The first major step towards this goal occurred with the completion of the Zachry EEC, which now stands at 525,000 square feet and was achieved by renovating the original 300,000-square-foot building, vertical expansion of the original building and two five-story building additions.
Michael K. Young, president of Texas A&M University, stated at the dedication ceremony, the Zachry Engineering Education Complex is a “stunning feat of engineering”. The facility contains technology-enhanced active-learning studios, interdisciplinary laboratories, 60,000 square feet of makerspace (design center containing machining and fabrication equipment), a student career center, study and gathering spaces, engineering-inspired art and a 13,000-square-foot green roof terrace.
Much of the building structure is concealed by architectural finishes. However, the building has an abundance of structure on display: architecturally exposed structural steel canopies and trellises with spans in excess of 70 feet, a 3,800 square-foot steel-framed skylight structure over a central atrium, exposed cast-in-place concrete structure, active-learning areas to promote collaboration, and an engineering quadrangle with a rain garden, shade structures and engineering-focused artwork. The interior floor-to-ceiling design provides visual access into the fabrication center and engineering laboratories to put engineering education and experiments on full display.
“The most complex requirement was to make all of the exterior load-bearing precast concrete on the original building disappear,” according to JQ’s principal Carlo Taddei. “In addition to the existing precast elements that were 10 -foot wide columns, there was a void space in the middle of each element which served as a mechanical chase. All loadbearing precast concrete wall elements were replaced by a new steel exoskeleton while retaining all of the existing four floors supported by the original precast.”
The Zachry EEC is now the largest academic building on campus with 525,000 square feet of space that is accessible to engineering students 24/7, which has increased the utilization and efficiency of the building. The Zachry EEC is so unrecognizable since its transformation that many believe the original 300,000-square-foot building was demolished. In reusing 80% of the original building, significant economic and sustainable benefits were achieved.
“Sustainability was a key driver in the reimagining of the Zachry EEC. The fact that over 80% of the original 300,00-square-foot structure was reused meant that there was less construction waste to dispose of and significantly reduced the amount of carbon emissions and negative impact to the environment of having to replace the structure,” Taddei tells GlobeSt.com. “The ZACH is not only a display of engineering excellence but a world-class facility that brings engineering to the forefront and further cements Texas A&M University’s status as a national leader in engineering education. The building itself will serve as a recruiting tool to attract the best and brightest students and professors to TAMU.”
The project team included Treanor (architect/prime firm), Ayers Saint Gross (associate architect), Harrison Kornberg Architects (associate architect), JQ Engineering (civil and structural engineers), Shah Smith & Associates (MEP engineering),Coleman & Associates (landscape architect), 4b Technology Group (IT/data technology) and Vaughn Construction (general contractor).
“The work of the entire project team involved a tireless effort to innovate and create a significant academic building on the TAMU campus that would address the university’s enrollment and programmatic goals and resonate with young engineers as a forward-thinking, forward-looking place of learning,” says Lucy.
Each year, the American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas recognizes engineering and surveying firms for projects that demonstrate an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity and value. The ACEC Engineering and Surveying Excellence awards gala provides firms a venue to showcase both talent and expertise, and celebrates the outstanding efforts of design professionals, GlobeSt.com. learns.