SUNY Brockport’s new Liberal Arts Building was designed to create a building that was an impetus for enhancing four core areas to obtain optimal student success and national recognition. The team was focused on designing the building to maximize the experience of various types of learning environments and quality of place, as well as providing academic engagement. The result is a new three-story, 62,000 s/f Liberal Arts Building that is LEED© Gold certified.
The $25 million facility serves as the new home of Brockport’s Departments of English, History, Modern Languages and Cultures, Philosophy, and Women and Gender Studies. The building is located between the existing academic and recreational cores of the campus and is adjacent to the Drake Memorial Library. This synergy with the library is reinforced with a physical, second story bridge connection that will encourage students to move freely between the two buildings. Nestled behind an existing grove of mature trees, the building utilizes nature to provide summer time shade and reduced cooling loads.
The program features a tiered 200-seat auditorium (divisible into two 100-seat environments), two 70-seat, divisible classrooms, three 46-seat classrooms, and two 25-seat seminar rooms. It also highlights a gallery that houses an E.E. Cummings collection, artist-made benches from the ash trees that were salvaged from the building site, original artwork by regional artists, and exterior balconies. The program was situated within the building along a “Main St.” circulation path which was filled with natural light, views and connections to the outside as well as connections to the learning environments, faculty offices and various types of “collision spaces.” These “collision spaces” that are located throughout the building promote student-to-student and student-to-faculty interaction and provide opportunities for informal learning and cross-discipline conversations outside of the classroom.
Special features such as bio-swales and a retention pond, sun shading devices, bird friendly design applications, a high performance building envelope with well integrated mechanical systems and solar control lighting, helped the Liberal Arts Building earn Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED©) Gold certification.
SWBR provided the overall project management of the design, with sustainable exterior envelope development and detailing. Stantec led programming, site selection, concept design, and interior architecture design.; M/E Engineering designed the mechanical, electrical and plumbing design; EDR Company provided the site design; Baer provided the cost estimating and LeChase Construction was the general contractor.
Key sustainable highlights:
- 31% water consumption reduction.
- 33 % energy cost savings.
- 89% of on-site construction waste was diverted from landfills.
- 20% of building material is manufactured from recycled materials.
- 85% of the wood based building materials are FSC certified.
