The new Gary C. Wendt Engineering Center is a $15 million, two-story, 40,000-square-foot academic facility. This design-build project began with clearing the site and readying the building pad area. The team used a self-propelled screed machine and screen rollers to settle the aggregate in the concrete to produce a better finish, as the floors will be polished concrete. Through three months of meticulous planning, the team prepared for the tiltwall panel erection phase which consisted of a total of 28 panels, with the largest weighing an impressive 198,000 lbs. This massive 9-inch-thick panel will serve as the main entrance to the new engineering building. The entire panel installation took three days.
The new building houses research and development labs for a variety of engineering disciplines, staff and faculty offices, collaboration spaces, and a conference room. The facility will also feature an open courtyard on the exterior, which will connect to the Barnett Applied Research Center, providing additional recreation space.
Throughout the design and construction of the new facility, this project has been, and will continue to be, a featured project for hard hat tours for the University’s students, other educational institutional facilities’ students, area construction organizations’ members, and Chamber and League members.
