Western Michigan University Student Center and Dining Hall
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Merit Award
Sent by: Walbridge
Owner: Western Michigan University (WMU)
Main design company: Barrel design
General contractor: Walbridge
Civil Engineer: Beckett + Raeder
Structural Engineer: Barrel design
MEP Engineer: Peter Basso Associates
Food service design: BakerGroup
Computer design/AV/Security/Acoustics: Shen Milsom Wilke
Subcontractors: Granger Construction Co.; National Enclosure Co.; Associates Ritsema; Central Tile & Terrazzo Co.; Great Lakes West; DHE plumbing and mechanics; Pro Services Inc.; Allied Mechanical Services
With a design inspired by WMU’s natural environment and Native American heritage, this project created a student center that fosters connection, community, and collaboration.
The facade features a unified curtain wall system and a fiberglass reinforced concrete cladding. Meanwhile, 242 custom-cut aluminum sunshade fins attached to curtain wall studs span the exterior of the building.
One of the main features of this project is its “Heart,” or a three-story atrium with a cantilevered staircase topped with a 70-foot skylight. Some 17,000 square meters of custom white oak paneling also clad the space. Given the complex geometry of the space, the team worked through several mockups and coordination review sessions of detailed shop drawings. Construction required top-to-bottom sequencing, so a three-story scaffolding system was designed and erected within the space to assist various business partners with access.
The building’s structure is primarily cast-in-place concrete, with a hollow biaxial slab system called bubble decking used in the building’s main floor structure. In it, hollow plastic spheres create voids filled with air and reduce the volume of concrete required by up to 30%, saving material costs and reducing environmental impacts. Extensive pre-construction planning helped coordinate the design of the concrete slab structure and MEP systems along with a specific concrete placement sequence, schedule and logistics.
