IMEG provided engineering design services for the LEED Gold, $60-million Student Innovation Center at Iowa State University. The new building was designed for multidisciplinary use and is a hub for students in the College of Engineering and College of Design, furthering the university’s mission to be a hands-on institution.

The 146,323-sf, student-centric building houses no faculty offices but a variety of spaces for students to collaborate and experiment. The center features fabrication areas for electronics, woodworking and textiles, metal working and engine test bays, as well as a test kitchen and a store selling products the students make. Also included in the five-story building are meeting rooms and breakout spaces, study and collaboration areas, administrative space, student organization offices, and a café.

IMEG worked closely with the university to determine the needs of each of the building’s student groups since multiple disciplines use the new facility, with some areas designated as shared spaces and others dedicated for a particular discipline.

Engineers provided MEP, fire protection, and technology design, as well as energy modeling, a life cycle cost study, and construction administration services. The design includes a large amount of equipment needed to support the metal, wood, plastic, and electronics fabrication areas, and for engine testing. The electrical systems include a 175 kW generator for serving life safety needs and critical loads; horizontal bus ducts to be utilized in the equipment areas for distributing power to various equipment; the electrical service is 2500 amps, 480 volt, 3-phase.

Fire protection design included the manual wet standpipe systems, wet, dry, and pre-action fire sprinkler systems. All fire standpipes systems were designed according to NFPA 14 standards. All fire sprinkler systems were designed according to NFPA 13 standards. Fire alarm and detection was provided throughout the building in accordance with NFPA 72.

A portion of the building uses Power over Ethernet lighting as a test to determine the viability of PoE lighting for other areas at the university.

The building’s sustainable features include daylight harvesting, lighting design with daylight dimming and occupancy control, and preparation for a rooftop photovoltaic system.

Check out the project highlight video.