The University of Nevada, Las Vegas’ science programs have experienced tremendous growth in the past couple of years. This project is a five to seven year temporary plan to provide much needed entry level biology teaching labs in anticipation of a new teaching lab building being completed on the UNLV campus during that time. The new building is located adjacent to the Physics Building and is nestled next to an existing desert landscape area located on the main east-west campus mall. One of the main project parameters was to maintain the existing landscape area, so the modulars were set in the existing parking lot to the south. This provided us the opportunity to eliminate any ramps and stairs on the north side of the building due to the higher grade of the landscape area. From the mall the building does not look like a "temporary trailer" rather a purposeful and appropriate addition to the campus fabric.
Because the new building took up some existing parking spaces, we were tasked with reconfiguring a portion of an existing parking lot located to the west and also added a small new parking area to maintain the number of parking stalls.
The project consists of four biology teaching labs, a common prep room, and miscellaneous support spaces. Each lab contains pre-manufactured science casework and air, gas, vacuum, power, and data to each student table. We toured the existing labs in the Biology department to determine the best layout of the new labs and the systems required to provide maximum use and flexibility. The modular construction was chosen by the University to expedite the construction schedule and provide classroom space as soon as possible. UNLV also chose to execute this project as a construction manager at risk. We completed three separate drawing packages; modular building package, site development package and interior build-out package to expedite bidding and the phasing of the construction.
The exterior color scheme was derived simply as a backdrop to the mature desert landscaping area. The University did not want a monotone color, rather something that would be appropriate for it’s location on the mall. Varying tones of the same color were selected to provide a rhythm around the building. As the colors compress and expand in size they gradually change tone. Space was also provided on the exterior wall facing the mall to install a future cable system to support growth of vines and roses to further enhance the desert landscape area.