bws | Architects
Extended Campuses Center
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff, AZ
The Extended Campuses Center (ECC) at NAU occupied three buildings on campus, including space in the existing Communications Building. This project adds on an additional 23,000 sf to the Communications Building to consolidate departmental functions into a single facility. The three-story addition connects to the existing building on all three levels, using an existing stair and elevator to assist in providing a second means of egress and accessibility to the new addition. A three-story atrium separates the new building from the existing spaces, providing natural light to the interior rooms of the new addition as well as to the existing Communications Building spaces being impacted by the new addition. A new studio and a new covered bay for the communications truck is located adjacent to the south wall of the existing studio expanding NAU's capacity to produce A/V material for state-wide satellite distribution. The building introduces an innovative heating and cooling systems including an "Active Chilled Beam" distribution system and a solar convection wall system that collects solar energy with a perforated metal skin, heating the exterior wall cavity and drawing the heated air up to the air-handling equipment in the penthouse creating energy-saving pre-heated ventilation air.
Consistent with NAU's ambitious sustainability goals, this project achieved Gold LEED Certification.
