Lab Manager Design Awards Finalist
Recogniton for a trailblazing science complex.
The Ernest T. Tschannen Science Complex at Sacramento State is a finalist in the Lab Design Excellence Awards program. From the glass-lined hallways which allow passersby to view scientists at work, to the state-of-the-art planetarium, students feel immersed in a world of innovation the moment they walk through the complex doors. Completion of the new science complex had long been anticipated. Professors described students using hair dryers in place of Bunsen burners that no longer worked, putting into perspective how essential the new complex is. Adding to the community buzz, the Tschannen Complex is the first new academic building to be constructed on the campus in more than a decade.
Sacramento State has anticipated growth of student interest in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. The complex’s Fall 2019 debut coincided with record-breaking enrollment. The University reported to have welcomed approximately 31,500 students including the largest first-year class of 4,300 students in the school’s history.
Laboratory Market Segment Leader, Nathan Ho, led the team of P2S engineers who provided mechanical, electrical and plumbing designs. The design-build was a collaboration between Sundt Construction and CO Architects. Housed within the science complex are teaching and research laboratories for the chemistry and biology departments of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. Equipment and utility requirements varied for each lab ranging from fume hoods, snorkels and gas connection. The open floor plan design encourages collaboration with students facing each other in the labs to get hands-on experience and learn through doing.
About the Lab Design Excellence Awards:
The Lab Design Excellence Awards program was launched in 2019. The competition invited industry professionals to put their recent lab projects into words, for a chance to enter into an elite community within the lab design world. Entrants were asked to demonstrate what makes their facilities unique and cutting-edge, and how they can serve as models for the lab design/build community. A panel of industry leaders—consisting of laboratory architects, engineers, construction professionals, and editorial staff from Lab Manager—analyzed each entry for its approach to lab design, specifically focusing on the categories of Innovation, Sustainability, and Safety. Projects entered in the Lab Design Excellence Awards represented a wide range of laboratory types, such as research labs, academic facilities, forensic and crime labs, healthcare buildings, government facilities, industry labs, and more.
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