In order to take maximum advantage of the limited funding opportunities, the planning, design and construction of this facility were completed on an extremely tight schedule of 120 days. Due to issues of construction sequencing as well as for educational goals building systems in the room were exposed. Design was being adjusted during demolition as unexpected as-built conditions emerged. The environment is itself a tool of learning. All that is typically hidden is exposed to the students, challenging them to understand a broader idea of technology and infrastructure.
A cable tray running the perimeter of the room connects each student's work area to the central server, by way of painted steel cable drops. The perforated screens silhouette the cabling within as it descends to the desktop. The desktops are plastic laminate covered casework with wiremold running along the back. The desktops begin at the metal screens and fold down to the ground at the opposite end reinforcing ideas of flow.
The existing ceiling was removed to expose laminated wood trusses that were stained yellow to accentuate their presence and support the lighting and HVAC systems. The lighting of the space is accomplished through an indirect pendant fixture hung just below the trusses for a glare-free space while the ductwork snakes through an abandoned catwalk void through the trusses. An existing equipment room is appropriated as a teacher's niche. The ochre walls articulate the instructor's zone that is bounded with built-in, Finnish plywood shelving and folding countertop.
