BOUDREAUX leads AIA Tour of New Midlands Tech Building

Higher Education

Our project manager Karen guided a tour for AIA Columbia today of the Midlands Technical College Business and Information Technology Center at Beltline campus.

Midlands Technical College seeks to create a welcoming, iconic gateway to the campus through construction of a new building to house programs focused on Business, Information Technology, Science, and Mathematics. The building will serve as a secondary front door to campus (with the Student Services Center serving as the primary campus front entrance), and includes a welcome hub and information desk. It will be STEM focused in all aspects. This project seeks to achieve three different goals for the college while maintaining a challenging budget and schedule:

Enhance the connections with the existing campus
Emphasize sustainability and flexibility
Shift the organizational model to simplify pathways to graduation and certification

With over 15’ of site differential to mitigate, the academic building focuses on bringing students and visitors into the building from the lower parking lot through a pedestrian plaza, then linking the entrance from the upper level of campus through a dynamic staircase. This staircase is mirrored inside the building to enhance the indoor/outdoor connection, and provides terraced steps for students to gather and study between classes. The first floor includes a welcome kiosk, large multipurpose conference room, and a smaller multipurpose classroom/blackbox theater engage visitors to the building. The second level includes a coffee station and lounge overlooking an upper pedestrian plaza, an executive conference space, and business related classrooms and programs. This level is connected through a two story atrium and dynamic staircase to the level below. The third floor cantilevers over the lower two floors to create a covered overhang that also serves to shield the inviting glass wall along the southern sun exposure. This floor is focused on Information Systems technology, which compliments the Business component of the lower floors as well. The fourth floor houses Science and Math programs, providing cutting edge laboratory spaces for Biology and Chemistry. The top two levels feature a prominent glass and metal panel “brow” that faces toward the pedestrian active zones of campus. All of the levels incorporate small study nooks for student to utilize between classes for teacher conferences, collaborative meetings, and group and individual study.

Through its achievement of Green Globes certification, the building focuses on enhanced efficiency of systems and incorporates natural light in a way to increase wellness factor for students and employees in the building. The owner envisions this building will connect both students and the business community together through use of flexible gathering spaces. The multipurpose room is equipped with a removable stage and a variety of seating arrangements to quickly convert from classes to gatherings and performances. The Center for Entrepreneurship includes a Business lounge and offices for corporate partners to host lunches and foster interaction with current students and projects. Several monitors on the lower levels showcase student work in order to foster collaboration between disciplines.

Through its creating siting and arrangement of collaborative spaces, the new 56,000 SF academic building on Midlands Technical College’s campus seeks to connect and enrich the student experience and connections to the community at large, while serving as a new iconic beacon for the lower entrance to the campus.