Brauer Hall at Washington University features Collegiate Gothic style architecture
The Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, has unveiled Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Hall, an environmentally sensitive structure featuring Collegiate Gothic style of architecture at its Danforth Campus.
The 150,000 square feet Stephen F. & Camilla T. Brauer Hall is designed to house Washington University’s Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering. Designed by Clayco, Cole & Associates in collaboration with architecture firm RMJM, the four-story tall Brauer Hall features granite and red limestone walls and houses 27 research labs.
RMJM has designed the structure in a Collegiate Gothic style of architecture, which is characteristic of Washington University's Danforth campus. The architects have incorporated subtle variations in period and expression. While the exterior facades flaunt historically important traditional languages of the original campus vision, the interiors reflect the pressures and considerations of modern lab design.
An innovative feature of the new facility is an 86-seat distance-learning classroom, which is the first of its kind at the university. Facing south, the main entrance to Brauer Hall will lead into a sunlit lobby that can double as a reception area. The hall connects to the existing Uncas A. Whitaker Hall on all levels of its western side. This has been incorporated to facilitate interaction between the two departments.
The Brauer Hall has also been honored with LEED-Gold Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The facility’s high albedo roof helps in reducing heat-island effect. A thermally-efficient exterior envelope and a high-efficiency air-handling system, incorporating air-to-air recovery helps to save 30% energy. A storm water recycling system has been used for irrigation. At least 35% of all the construction and design materials and 75% of non-hazardous construction waste has been recycled. Low-emitting materials have been used for adhesives and interior floor and wall finishes.
Two-thirds of the space in Brauer Hall will be dedicated to research laboratories designed to maximize flexibility across the range of aquatics, aerosols, synthetic chemistry, and biomedical research activities that will be housed within the structure. A plug-and-play casework system, which includes moveable base cabinets, removable tables, and ceiling-mounted service panels, improves the ability to accommodate a range of bench-top and floor-mounted equipment while reducing the cost of future renovations.
Brauer Hall will also house office suites for the dean of the school of engineering and for the EECE department and its chairman.
