A community college in Oregon has begun construction on a new building devoted to maritime science. With it, the school hopes to solidify its position as a major industrial and marine technology center in the Pacific Northwest.
Designed by SRG Partnership, based in Portland and Seattle, the 15,500-sf Maritime Science Building will house classrooms and other instructional and building-support spaces at Clatsop Community College’s Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station (MERTS) campus. Only the fourth building on the MERTS campus, the structure will serve as an arrival point, one that strengthens the school’s maritime identity and brand.
Outside, cantilevers on both ends of the building create spacious, covered workspaces. Inside, the design evokes a working ship—with exposed steel, mechanical systems, and stairways all highlighting the training program’s hands-on ethos. Exposed mass timber nods to the maritime theme, while honoring the region’s timber industry. The mass timber also eliminates the need for internal columns, leaving the space open and adaptable. The building’s transparent atrium invites views from both inside and outside. And a large map of perforated wood shows where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean.
“Moving through the building will feel like navigating the bridge on a maritime vessel,” SRG Partnership says in a statement.
In addition to its aesthetic appeal, the design serves a structural purpose. Adjacent to the Columbia River, the MERTS campus sits on land that was dredged from the river. The soil is sandy and silty, with a high risk of soil liquefaction in a seismic event—a key design challenge. Also, the bedrock lies 60 feet down. By limiting the footprint of the ground floor, the team minimized the amount (and cost) of foundation drilling. The cantilevered second floor provides the rest of the needed interior space.
PAE will serve as the MEP engineer, with Catena as the structural engineer.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Polshek Partnership unveils design for University of North Texas business building
New York-based architect Polshek Partnership today unveiled its design scheme for the $70 million Business Leadership Building at the University of North Texas in Denton. Designed to provide UNT’s 5,400-plus business majors the highest level of academic instruction and professional training, the 180,000-sf facility will include an open atrium, an internet café, and numerous study and tutoring rooms—all designed to help develop a spirit of collaboration and team-oriented focus.
| Aug 11, 2010
LA tech college uses BIM to update campus look
Aspen Hall (66,000 sf) and Juniper Hall (56,000 sf) are the latest additions to Los Angeles Trade Technical College, providing new classrooms, lecture halls, and offices. The $80 million side-by-side buildings, designed by MDA Johnson Favaro, contrast with many of the campus's generations-old structures.
| Aug 11, 2010
UCLA to get more graduate housing
The University of California, Los Angeles, has begun a new graduate housing project that will occupy 275,000 sf of the campus. The Wayburn Terrace Graduate Housing Project, led by California-based construction management and consulting firm Gafcon, includes a residential building comprising 500 studio apartments, a commons building, and administrative offices.
| Aug 11, 2010
Fashion school gives old building a make over
A new art facility for LIM, the College for the Business of Fashion, in midtown Manhattan is the result of a gut renovation of a six-story townhouse-school built in 1880. The new facility will continue LIM's mission of educating undergraduates on the business side of fashion. Architecture firm Butler Rogers Baskett transformed the old building's claustrophobic layout into a modern, multifunctio...
| Aug 11, 2010
San Diego Mesa College enhances math and science facilities
A $92 million, 180,000-sf instructional center soon will rise at the heart of San Diego Mesa College in California. Slated to open in November 2012, the Math and Science Building will be funded by Propositions S and N construction bond program. The blueprint calls for four floors of classrooms, laboratory space, and offices for several science departments.
| Aug 11, 2010
Biomedical center to join London's research scene
The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, a partnership of scientific organizations researching new treatments for illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, hopes to attract leading medical scientists to its planned research center. Designed by HOK London, the building will be located on 3.
| Aug 11, 2010
College uses renewable materials in new library
A 93,000-sf Library and Academic Resource Center will replace Los Angeles Valley College's 1960s-vintage library. Pfeiffer Partners Architects designed the building to be consistent with the college's master plan, with its learning clusters and arcade circulation system. To obtain LEED certification, the center will use recycled and renewable materials, such as bamboo.
| Aug 11, 2010
Tufts University puts bite into new dental school addition
The recently dedicated Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, in Boston, represents the culmination of a 22-month vertical expansion of the school's original 1972 building. The $68 million project involved constructing five new stories totaling 95,000 sf atop the building's existing 10 stories, which were also remodeled.
| Aug 11, 2010
Northeast Lakeview College opens in Texas, to serve 15,000 students
After four years of construction, Northeast Lakeview College, the newest addition to Alamo Colleges, is complete. Designed by Overland Partners Architects in collaboration with Ford Powell & Carson, the nine-building, 285-acre campus in Universal City, near San Antonio, will serve up to 15,000 students.