Topic: H-D: Blending form, function

[biggreenarms]

HUNTINGTON -- Don't call it a comeback.

Marshall University's engineering program has been largely restored for a few years now, but now it is gaining a much more conspicuous presence as construction progresses on the Arthur Weisberg Family Applied Engineering Complex in the 1700 block of 3rd Avenue.

When the 145,000-square-foot complex opens in March 2015, it will be home to six academic components and programs. The facility also will help realize the full potential of the university's engineering program and train students for jobs that will be highly relevant in the state's economy, said Marshall President Stephen Kopp.

"It's one of our faster-growing programs," Kopp said. "I went through the building with the Weisbergs recently. We went through the whole building, and boy, is it spectacular ... The governor has already put us on notice. When the cracker plant happens in Parkersburg, you're going to see every engineer who's graduating absorbed into that because they have an almost unlimited need for engineers in that facility."

For now, the complex is home to jobs for hundreds of construction workers, who have worked almost non-stop since the groundbreaking for the complex in October 2012, about one month before the death of its namesake, Art Weisberg, founder of State Electric Supply Co. and Service Wire Co.

The $50 million complex is located between the Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories and the Robert C. Byrd Biotechnology Center along 3rd Avenue.

Its place between those two facilities was taken into account during the architectural design phase, said Ron May, director of facilities and planning at Marshall. It is designed to be the mid-sized sibling to the larger biotechnology center and the smaller engineering laboratories.

To date, the complex is about 75 percent complete, May said, and the more the facility takes shape, the more its multi-functional, environmentally friendly purpose becomes apparent.

The structure will become the home of the College of Information Technology and Engineering and its divisions of engineering, computer science, applied science and technology; Mechanical, Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering Research Laboratories; departments of Mathematics and Computational Science; Computer Modeling and Digital Imaging/Simulation Resource Facility; Transportation Research Corporation; and the Marshall University Research Corp.

The aesthetic crowning jewel of the building is the four-story atrium, which is visible from 3rd Avenue. The atrium is the main entrance to the building, which deliberately was constructed so that the entrance lined up with a pre-existing crosswalk across the avenue, May said.

Classrooms flank either side of the main entrance, and labs for geospatial sciences, environmental engineering, digital forensics, ecology, fluids hydraulics and thermal energy comprise the first level of the building.

An advanced material testing lab occupies two stories of the far western side of the building, nearest to the neighboring Arthur Weisberg Family Engineering Laboratories.

During a tour of the building Thursday, May said the lab is equipped with hydraulic pumps and other equipment that will make it possible for stress testing on things like steel beams to be performed at the facility. Offices and a corridor in the building overlook the lab.

On the second level of the building are chemistry labs and labs for industrial controls, transportation, finished water engineering and computer science. Administrative offices for the engineering program also are on the second floor.

The third level of the complex will house classrooms and labs for safety, fire protection, computer science, cyber security, computer graphics and math.

The third level also is home to an 8,000-square-foot roof space that will be used as a vegetative water filter system as part of the university's bid to qualify the building for Energy & Environmental Design, or L.E.E.D., silver certification. That means the building will have to meet and employ a specific amount of best-in-class building strategies and practices. Huntington East Middle School is the only other L.E.E.D.-certified facility in Cabell County.

The L.E.E.D. certification bid also means that practically every material, from the adhesive to the drywall, is environmentally friendly and purchased within a 500-mile radius of Huntington, May said.

Through the roof vegetative space, water can be filtered through the garden and into the building, where it can be tested to see how clean it is in the environmental labs downstairs.

The building also has to meet environmental standards that will require it to retain one inch of rain water for 24 hours before it can be drained into the city's sewage system, May said.

Toward those ends, officials also have incorporated a bathroom in the facility that will operate entirely using rain and gray water accumulated through the garden and the retaining system, May said.

Traveling to the fourth level of the building means traveling to the new home of the Marshall University Research Corporation. That level will be completely occupied by administrative offices and expansive labs for the corporation. It also includes a conference room that will overlook the atrium.

A consistent feature in the first three levels of the building is the presence of faculty offices in conjunction with "common curriculum" spaces in which students and faculty will be able to meet. The spaces also include smart screens to plug students and faculty into national and regional engineering networks as well as campus-wide events.

Most of the building is roughed out, and the layout is very clear throughout the complex.

May said construction was ahead of schedule heading into this winter, which proved challenging for other construction sites on campus. But having the building under roof meant construction crews were able to continue working through the harsh conditions.

"It's an awesome building," May said. "There's a lot that goes into making a building like this, but there's a lot of power in this building. It's really going to be a state-of-the art place for kids to learn."

Follow Reporter Lacie Pierson on Twitter @LaciePiersonHD.

LOCATION OF BUILDING: 1676 3rd Ave., Huntington.

COST: $50 million.

CONSTRUCTION START DATE: November 2012.

EXPECTED COMPLETION DATE: March 2015.

WHAT'S INSIDE: The 145,000-square-foot facility will become the home of six different academic components and programs: The College of Information Technology and Engineering and its divisions of engineering, computer science, applied science and technology; Mechanical, Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering Research Laboratories; departments of Mathematics and Computational Science; Computer Modeling and Digital Imaging/Simulation Resource Facility; Transportation Research Corporation; and the Marshall University Research Corp.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/x271214449/Engineering-complex-blends-form-and-function

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[FlyHawk98]

Now this is an AWESOME quote.

"It's one of our faster-growing programs," Kopp said. "I went through the building with the Weisbergs recently. We went through the whole building, and boy, is it spectacular ... The governor has already put us on notice. When the cracker plant happens in Parkersburg, you're going to see every engineer who's graduating absorbed into that because they have an almost unlimited need for engineers in that facility.

[elginherd]

To carry on a point from another topic...this could be a very positive game changer for the Tri-state.

NOW is the time to make the burg as attractive as possible to potential highly educated professionals & entrepreneurs. And that does include stuff to do that does not require a 3 hour drive.

Now if they could just somehow resurrect the Sandwich Isle... along with some minor league sports and a place for Herd baseball within walking distance of campus with Pullman Square and a GOOD downtown hotel plus a refurbished Mack & Dave's and that potentially great park on the river side of the floodwall, Huntington could really shine.