The $25-million Academic Support Center at Miami Dade College's Kendall Campus unites learning and administrative functions while also linking the growing school's future to its origins.
The 135,000-sq-ft building—which also serves as the home of the college's School of Business—centralizes the school's student services departments. It also serves as the new gateway of the Kendall campus, providing facilities for admissions, registration and financial aid.
The building's concrete exterior pays homage to the campus' original structures, built during the mid-1950s. Like the original buildings, the academic support center's exterior features exposed concrete, with its south facade comprising thin-shell precast panels.
The project team, led by Kaufman Lynn Construction, working with Baker Concrete Construction, custom-designed a formwork system that would create lines and texture in the exposed concrete, as envisioned by architect Perkins+Will. To ensure color consistency of the thin-shell concrete panels, contractors mixed the waterproofing sealant into the concrete mix at the precast manufacturing plant.
The new facility also makes extensive use of daylighting. Overall, project officials estimate that sustainable design practices helped reduce the facility's expected energy use by 21% and total potable water use by 74%.
Award of Merit, Higher Education-Research
Miami Dade College Academic Support Center, Kendall, Fla.
Key Players
Contractor Kaufman Lynn Construction, Boca Raton, Fla.
Owner Miami Dade College, Miami
Architect Perkins+Will, Atlanta
Structural Engineer DDA Engineers, Miami
Civil Engineer Miller Legg, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
MEP Engineer JALRW Engineering Group, Miami
