CREW Blue Ribbon Awards Program Book 2022

The Hursey Center for Advanced Engineering & Health Professions Hartford, CT

The Hursey Center is a 60,000 SF academic building is on the quad at University of Hartford. The building exterior is fiber reinforced cementitious panels and complementary curtain wall system. The building is set into the hillside featuring a sloping “green roof” and a soaring north façade with a wall of windows. The interior is an open center hall atrium that runs north to south. The building increases the facilities of the growing engineering and health profession programs. The center hall divides the program spaces with the health professions curriculum on the east and the engineering spaces on the west. Features of the interior spaces include a nursing suite, with simulation mannequins and bedside skills training, an engineering High Bay space with an overhead crane, Makerspace with 3D printing lab, Robotics Lab and a Turbo Machinery Lab equipped with wind tunnels and water flumes. The university recently expanded its undergraduate nursing program, and with the added Physical Therapy, Prosthetics & Orthotics and Kinesiology/Motion Analysis spaces they are meeting the student demand for these professions. The engineering school also is growing in the fields of Cybersecurity, Robotics, and Acoustical Engineering. With the latest in building technology and features, the Hursey Center is attracting applicants and growing enrollments to prepare students for jobs in fields of health, manufacturing and engineering throughout Connecticut. The Hursey Center project had an extremely aggressive project schedule. We overcame this obstacle with detailed planning and unique approaches to complete on time. The project prominently features a green roof that greatly reduces the heat island effect in the center of the quad. The green roof is planted with a wild meadow seed mixture that sustain wildlife life throughout the year. Meadow mix is also used on the east and west sides of the building, reducing lawn maintenance needs. The plaza on the south side of the building incorporates a rain garden that absorbs the run-off from the roof. The design team specified energy efficient mechanical and lighting system and pursued energy rebates. Owner : University of Hartford Size: 60,000 sf Project Team: Arcadis U.S., Inc., Payette Associates, Whiting-Turner Construction Company

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