Adaptive reuse that elevates engineering research

Built in 1920, a variety of industries have occupied the West Union Street Office Center in Athens over its century of service – including heavy manufacturing, printing, and warehousing – making the robust structure an ideal choice to house the rigors of engineering research. Adaptive reuse of this three-story, 84,000-square-foot building capitalizes on its generous floor-to-floor height and high structural floor load for research programs in Ohio University's Russ College of Engineering and Technology. Where laboratory operations and equipment were previously dispersed across campus, they now reside together in one facility, making a meaningful impact on the ability of faculty and students to collaborate.

The design maintains the practicality of the warehouse aesthetic and leverages its original purpose to support modern research. The building's open floor plan allows for a high degree of flexibility to accommodate the wide variety of research needs in biomolecular, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. These labs and support spaces are designed with interdisciplinary pursuits in mind, enabling reconfiguration to meet the changing needs inherent to innovative thinking and experimentation. Collaboration areas that encourage people to take pause and ideate together further support creative problem-solving and experiential learning experiences.

This consolidation of programs and expertise at the RROC has created a center of excellence for conducting cutting-edge research, enhancing the College's research capacity and in turn functioning as a significant recruitment tool to attract top talent and research grants. With facilities tailored to specific engineering needs, researchers at the forefront of their respective fields can collaborate to develop sustainable technologies, renewable energy sources, and solutions to society's many other Grand Challenges.

Flad Architects (architectural design, laboratory programming and planning), BHDP (architect of record, interior design)