Center for Technology and Learning Media
Golden, Colorado
Anderson Mason Dale Architects

A high-tech lab building of local sandstone becomes a major focal point of campus life

© Greg Hursley

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The Colorado School of Mines is among the top schools in geological engineering. The design of this new laboratory building fulfilled three distinct challenges for the school: it incorporated the latest in state-of-the-art technology; it was designed in keeping with the college’s mission of sustainable architecture, utilizing local and recycled materials and passive and active energy efficient systems; and it connected to the historical traditions of the college and campus, while expressing its unique role in the present and future of engineering. Located at the southern edge of the campus, the 39,000-square-foot center is a multidisciplinary technology lab emphasizing innovative teaching methods. Teaching areas are designed to be flexible learning environments, reconfigured to accommodate a range of presentation styles.

The building is shaped as an "L," which forms an interior courtyard. The short leg of the configuration contains the auditorium and fronts the interior garden formed by the intersection of the two wings. This large oval garden serves as a quiet place of refuge as well as a gathering area for outdoor pre-function activities associated with the auditorium. The wings meet at the lobby tower, which marks the heart of the building and the gateway to this new part of the campus.

Classrooms and labs are complemented by break-out rooms, a two-story glazed gallery space facing the quadrangle and the main lobby, providing informal areas for students to interact and work. Directly off the gallery are small outdoor courtyards designed to accommodate group meetings. Each of these environments, indoor and outdoor, has port or wireless connections back to the main network. This allows access to technology wherever students are in the building and, equally important, it allows them to be connected to the landscape and to enjoy this wonderful place even while studying.

Formal name of Project:
Center for Technology and Learning Media,
Colorado School of Mines

Location:
Golden, Colo.

Gross square footage:
39,238 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$8.2 million

Owner:
Colorado School of Mines

Architect:
Anderson Mason Dale Architects
1615 Seventeenth Street
Denver, CO 80202
303.294.9448
303.294.0762
www.amdarchitects.com