Renewable Energy & S.T.E.M. Center

As citizens, governments, and private industry strive to innovate and develop new technologies in response to the planet’s continuing energy crisis, many institutions of higher education seek to position themselves among the global leaders preparing students for the future.

Suffolk County Community College, seeking to become one of these institutions, requested proposals for a new Renewable Energy and STEM Center at their Grant Campus in Brentwood, NY. The college wanted to develop a new curriculum centered on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math with a focus on renewable energy and energy consumption. This new educational paradigm required a new building typology capable of providing the breadth of opportunities offered by the new curriculum. WFC pursued this new typology not only through traditionally functional lecture spaces, but actively through comprehensive design and interactive building elements and spaces.

Prior to responding to the college’s request, WFC sought to bring together a comprehensive and qualified team of design professionals from throughout the country to deliver the best design possible. WFC engaged the services of PAE Consulting Engineers, a nationwide leader in sustainable design, to add to their already qualified design team of local professionals, including Emtec Engineers, and VHB engineers.

WFC and the design team rose to the challenges set forth by the college to produce a new and beautiful building typology for the campus, work with the college’s leadership to develop a new curriculum, and cement the college as Long Island’s leader in both LEED and Net Zero Building design.