Project Description
FROM THE ARCHITECTS:
Positioned along the frontage road between the campus core and an underutilized lake, the Texas A&M University–Commerce Nursing and Health Sciences Building forms a meeting point for university and community functions and establishes external connections through a boardwalk and internal courtyard. The design creates an iconic building for individual departments, balancing the need for unique identities for Nursing, Health & Human Performance and Biomedical Research, while incorporating mixing zones for interdisciplinary collaboration, multi-functional resources and amenities for the broader campus. Academic programs housed in a ‘workhorse bar’ of labs and classrooms include a state-of-the-art nursing and simulation suite; Health Homes Program–focused programming including a full-court teaching gymnasium, teaching kitchen and human performance lab; and a graduate student suite for Biomedical Research and two cutting-edge research labs. The academic programs aim to educate healthcare practitioners to serve the under-resourced medical communities in Northeast Texas. A lake-facing volume is crafted as the facility’s social hub and administrative wing. The Boardwalk and Roof Terrace create iconic and memorable social spaces which offer picturesque views of Gee Lake.