Best Higher Education/Research: Advanced Engineering Building at University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Engineering is already the fastest-growing field of study at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, but its $73-million Advanced Engineering Building, which opened for classes last fall, could make more students change majors.

The 52,313-sq-ft structure, termed an “idea incubator and innovation generator,” also hosts computer science study and research. It features an aviary enclosure for drone testing, maker-spaces, open-concept wet and dry laboratories and a “flexatorium” with wall-to-wall LED display screen and space for large classes or project displays—the first of its kind on campus.

The building has a glass curtain wall facade that offers an abundance of natural light, with exterior metal panel cladding and industrial sun-shade louvers giving it a futuristic look and appeal, the team says. Members used the “StructionSite” photo system to capture work progress. “With these photos, we could travel back in time in the project to see important elements of construction to help locate items installed or items that were buried,” says the submission.

Complementing the high-tech environment is the building’s outdoor student and faculty collaborative space, which includes wood benches adaptively reused from 50-year old Mondell pine trees that were removed from the site.

Structure design incorporates solar energy and extreme water conservation and reclamation technologies, according to the team. Engineering school Dean Rama Venkat predicts its engineering and computer science student enrollment will increase up to 25% by 2030, and research grants will rise to $25 million from $17 million in 2024.