Francis Tuttle Technology Center, Danforth Campus
Edmond, Oklahoma
As outlying communities grow, the demand for access to affordable education and training follows. This academic building consists of two stories dedicated to core classes and student support areas that articulate a proud industrial yet refined environment in support of the innovative solutions necessary to inform 21st-century students. Classes in entrepreneurship, engineering, bioscience and medicine, computer science, pre-nursing, cosmetology, automotive service technology, STEM, and interactive media serve a wide range of student interests. Additionally, the building houses a business incubator, seminar and training spaces for conferences.
At first glance, the split-level building is set back from the main road, nestled into a site that drops 55 feet from the northwest corner to the southwest corner, to minimize the impact of the height of the building on the adjacent residential neighborhoods. The exterior materials are honest in nature—a mixture of wood, concrete, and stone that flow naturally into the interior of the building.
Students and visitors enter through the building and are directed by clerestory windows into a main circulation hub, met by a glass-railed bridge overlooking a light-filled rotunda. The rotunda mimics a restful zone with space to work, connect, and enjoy an abundance of natural light, while encouraging instructors to break out of their classrooms, making use of the grand stair for student seating—a unique option for energized learning.
The program encourages and facilitates the STEM Focused + Design Thinking process, an approach that centers on the principles of empathy, expansive thinking, and experimentation. Transparency into classrooms and Design Thinking Studios reveals activities within. The interior is inviting and durable, with exposed natural elements that inspire creative and inquisitive minds. Full-spectrum color and energized shapes invite students to manipulate their environment by moving the furniture and writing on the walls—engagement to the fullest.
Additional Information
Associated Firm
Allen Consulting; KFC Engineering
Cost per Sq Ft
$277.00
Featured in
2023 Educational Interiors Showcase
Interior category
Technology/STEM Centers
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