Ruth & Steve West Workforce Development Center

The facility seeks to celebrate the knowledge and craft of the programs housed within - including welding, advanced manufacturing, engineering technology, computer science, cyber defense, robotics, and culinary arts. The building labs are flexible and reconfigurable, accommodating academic and workforce development programs that evolve with changing technologies and workforce needs. The design responds to the campus’s existing traditional architecture with technical, modern spaces that reflect the curriculum. Located on the edge of an existing campus green space, the facility opens to pedestrians with a shaded patio space that leads into a large multi-function space. The custom sunshades are crafted from aluminum, a nod to the local aluminum industry in nearby Alcoa and perforated using symbols derived from welding shop drawings.

Within the building, the exposed steel structure and systems are instructive to the welding and electrical students. The building utilizes sustainable design elements like clerestory windows to maximize daylight and roofs designed for solar panels and rainwater collection to both reduce utility demands and integrate with educational programming.

The design team worked with the college to preserve part of its history in the community. In the new building, reclaimed marble slabs hang in the main lobby and corridor, where they are engraved with building dedication information and the names of donors. The Tennessee Marble slabs are from the Bungalow School in Maryville, a former K-12 school founded in 1934. Pellissippi State met at the Bungalow school from 1985-2010. The Workforce Development Center honors that heritage by reusing these marble slabs, returning them to use nearly 90 years after they were first installed at Bungalow.

Framework for Design Excellence

Design for Integration
• The design team and educators visited other facilities together early in the design process.
• Flexibility of the spaces, especially the large lab/workshop spaces, was essential to respond to changing workforce needs.
• Creating an environment in the building that was appealing to students who have long hours was particularly important, coming from spaces previously that had minimal natural light.
• The educators wanted to find ways to celebrate the history of the school and the professions studied within.

Design for Equitable Communities
• The design team and educators worked with local employers to understand their workforce needs and incorporate them into the planning of the facility, increasing access to employment opportunities.
• The exterior patio space and adjacent multi-function space are intended to be used for events for the local community beyond the colleges.

Design for Ecosystems
• Preservation of mature trees and inclusion of only native species for new plants.
• The building is used to acoustically separate the green space from the parking lot.

Design for Water

• The roofs of the workshop/lab spaces were designed to accommodate rainwater collection, which the Culinary Arts program can use to water their kitchen garden.
• No irrigation is used
• Low-flow & low-flush plumbing fixtures were used

Design for Economy
• The design team went through extensive program verification to understand the specific space and equipment needs of the educators, reducing excess area where possible.
• Using reclaimed marble panels from a previous building provided a high-end finish that would otherwise have been out of the project’s budget and utilized local crafts personnel.
• Durable materials were selected where subject to damage to reduce maintenance costs.
• The campus had funds for renewable energy projects that were available outside the project budget, so the project was delivered in such a way to make it possible to purchase and install solar panels with those funds.

Design for Energy
• Most spaces are well-illuminated with clerestory windows, reducing the demand for artificial light.
• The roof is designed to accommodate solar panels at an optimal angle.
• Electric vehicle parking and charging stations are provided.

Design for Well-being
• Natural light increases occupant comfort, especially for students and educators that have long days in training labs.
• The site design connects to a walking path around the campus.
• The shaded patio space extends opportunities for outdoor use.
• Structural acoustic steel deck in the workshops helps reduce noise levels.
• Low-VOC materials are specified throughout.

Design for Resources
• Extraneous materials are reduced throughout the building, focusing on making carbon-conscious decisions for materials where they are needed.
• Reclaimed marble used in the lobby, reception desk, and window sills.
• Local materials and craft are celebrated with welded aluminum sunshades on the patio.

Design for Change
• Lab spaces are designed for easy modification and adaptability as the workforce demands of the area change, with easy-to-access overhead electrical systems.
• Designed to accommodate an on-site photovoltaic system.

Design for Discovery
• The OPR was developed early in program verification and utilized by the commissioning agent.
• The design team and educators visited other facilities together early in the design process.
• Design outcomes and lessons-learned are shared with the design team.
• Post-Occupancy evaluation is planned in the near future.