Cuyahoga Community College STEM Building Addition and Renovations

Cuyahoga Community College STEM Building Addition and Renovations

“Working with the architectural teams from both Ellenzweig and Weber Murphy Fox on the programming and design phases of the STEM Center has been one of the highlights of my career in higher education. I now get to come to work in the magnificent structure that has resulted out of that experience. Each work day I get to watch students enjoy, study, and learn in the ideals spaces that the STEM Center provides for them.”

- Ormond Brathwaite, Ph.D., Associate Dean of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics

Cuyahoga Community College STEM Building Addition and Renovations

Parma, Ohio | 64,000 gsf new; 24,430 gsf renovation | $28 million | 2019 | LEED Gold Certified

Ellenzweig provided programming, lab planning, and architectural design services for a new building wing and renovation of vacated space in the existing building. Designed to provide the College with contemporary space for its Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics programs, the addition creates a major new learning hub that includes technology-rich teaching labs for Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Information Technology; lab support; and student collaboration spaces.

 

In support of evolving educational paradigms such as cross-disciplinary problem-based learning, the addition showcases spaces that foster interdisciplinary collaborative investigation, including an interdisciplinary lab designed to be used as a research space but that allows students to congregate for “chalk talks,”surrounded by a tissue culture room, laser lab, equipment room, and student write-up space, as well as an Innovation Center intended as a “sandbox” for electronic interactive collaborations among students, students and faculty, or faculty from different disciplines.

 

The building addition incorporates a number of sustainable initiatives, including building-integrated photovoltaics in the 100-foot long skylight,  solar shading, and a constructed wetland designed as an outdoor classroom and social space that transforms into a reflective pool following heavy rains. The central social space also includes three biophilic walls, connecting occupants with nature. The addition is 70% carbon neutral with a EUI of 71.16 kBtu/sf/yr.

 

Renovations consisted of backfilling vacated spaces in the existing building for faculty offices, student study space, workforce training space, and a virtual reality (VR) space enabling students to experiment in learning via 3D immersion.

 

 

Ellenzweig served as Design Architect and Lab Planner, working in a collaboration with Weber Murphy Fox, Architect of Record.

 

Awards

NAIOP Northern Ohio Chapter Award of Excellence, Education Architecture Project of the Year
NAIOP Northern Ohio Chapter Award of Excellence, Education Interior Design of the Year
Cleveland 2030 District and USGBC Ohio’s Northeast Region Green Building Challenge Winner

Cuyahoga Community College STEM Building Addition and Renovations