By Roxanne Squires
ANNVILLE, Penn. 鈥� The Jeanne and Edward H. Arnold Health Professions Pavilion has become a new icon on Lebanon Valley College鈥檚 campus 鈥� serving as a home to the school鈥檚 Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Athletic Training and Bachelor of Exercise Science programs.
Construction on the $20 million Pavilion project began March 2017 with selected architect company, Stantec, to deliver a design which provides a balance of technically advanced learning environments, informal meeting areas, and private areas designed to give students the resources they need to be productive both inside and outside of the classroom.
鈥淭he guiding design principle for this project was to create a space that promotes spontaneous interaction, supports individualized learning, and allows for ample natural light. As a result, learning commons are dispersed throughout the building, offering formal spaces for quiet study, team rooms for collaborative learning, and breakout spaces for socializing.鈥� said Tanamay Morales, architect at Stantec.
The Pavilion features flexible classroom space, observation rooms, human performance and gross anatomy labs, flexible faculty office space to enable collaboration with students, and new technologies that enhance teaching.
The project is also designed for LEED Gold certification, with a focus on natural light and connectivity between the indoor and outdoor spaces.
鈥淭hrough shadow studies and lighting tests, the design team placed specific emphasis on ensuring natural light could effectively enter the building without interfering with technology, the learning environment, and building energy performance,鈥� said Morales. 鈥淭his was accomplished by incorporating large spans of high-performance glass, light shelves, and floor openings throughout the building help prevent glare and unwanted solar heat gain from entering.鈥�
The building also repurposes some materials and profiles from the existing campus; including red brick, wood and a pitched metal roof while incorporating new materials, like the white metal panel and the curtain wall to develop a fresh and modernized space.
鈥淭his project exemplifies the rising trend to create academic buildings that are designed to nurture diverse academic communities that interact throughout the day in both informal and formal settings,鈥� said Alex Wing, principal in higher education at Stantec. 鈥淭he clustering of specialized learning environments and laboratories near lounge spaces, break-out rooms, and private study areas was deliberate and provides students with the opportunity to learn in a manner which best fits their needs throughout the day.鈥�
Wing explained that these clusters are reinforced by food services, ample public spaces, and convertible rooms which enable the facility to effectively support outreach functions 鈥� providing an interface between the school鈥檚 health science programs, the industry, and the community the students will ultimately serve.
鈥淭he facility focuses on flexibility, outreach, and the creation of ample public spaces sufficient to provide a 24-7 鈥榟ome away from home鈥�,鈥� said Wing. 鈥淲ith the specific mix of spaces are the result of a rigorous optimization effort that explored the best means to match enrollment goals, course schedules, and flexible learning environments.聽 Recognizing the reality of limited resources, the process enabled the design team to identify the right mix of formal and informal spaces 鈥� without sacrificing baseline instructional needs.鈥�
In addition to the publicly accessible flat screens, the building includes recording/playback facilities in the cadaver lab and human performance labs.聽 In the cadaver lab, these systems enable instructors to share views of dissections to a roomful of occupants. In the human performance lab, the systems, which include force plates and camera arrays, enable research into human movement patterns and the impact of those movements on the human body.