Walker Hall, Maryville University

In an effort to bolster recruitment for their Healthcare Professions program and bring the school of nursing program to the next level in education, Maryville University looked to design a state-of-the-art lab and academic facility. While still bringing a fresh perspective for the project, the team was charged to maintain high connectivity to the campus in not only the building placement on the quad but also in the choice of architectural materials.

With a tight budget in mind, early BIM coordination of all MEP systems was used for design, therefore compressing the interstitial space and saving exterior skin cost. The skin of the building was also analyzed, leading to a thin brick tilt-up concrete panel as the solution to achieve a $200 per square-foot cost and maintain all programmatic requirements in the building.

The design for the three-story, 87,000-square-foot facility is inspired by a unique "open collaboration" concept, promoting natural interaction among students, faculty and staff while overseeing the campus.