A Common Thread

How the architecture of the Donald Betz STEM Research and Learning Center facilitates connection

by Sarah Neese

Withan emphasis on transformative and interdisciplinary learning, Central’s new STEM center is built to foster connections. In fact, according to the building’s architects, Rand Elliott, Mike Mays and Ben Butler, every inch of the 56,000-squarefoot structure was designed with collaboration in mind.

Elliott, principal architect with Elliott + Associates Architects, explained that collaboration extended to the building’s creation itself, as Central worked alongside the three architects in finding new and exciting ways to bring the vision of a STEM center to life.

“We bring a fresh perspective and a new interpretation about what it means to take silos away and put people together and watch it happen.”

The concepts for the STEM center began many years ago, as a delegation of Central leaders met with Elliott, Mays and Butler. President Don Betz; Provost John Barthell, Ph.D.; and Wei Chen, Ph.D., dean of the College of Mathematics and Science, all had a hand in the process.

“When we started out, Dr. Chen and the executive committee were instructing us and giving their aspirations and dreams for what this building could be, and part of that was that it would be interdisciplinary, collaborative and not be compartmentalized,” Mays said. “Rather than it being these individual pieces, it’s one big building where everybody is doing different things, but they can run into each other and say, ‘Maybe we can work on something together.’ That was really one of the main functional requirements and aspirations, before we even started laying out the blocks in this building.”

For anyone who enters the center, it quickly becomes apparent that these aspirations came to fruition. Bright, reflective floors give way to high, open ceilings. Windows skirt the building from top to bottom and light permeates the interior, creating a sense of innovative electricity.

“We want, and the college wanted, to create a space that kept students here. It’s being able to create a space that has energy,” Mays said. “[A space] that was able to engage them in an exciting environment and to keep them here to study, hang out, talk to their professors and be able to really spend their time here.” which runs throughout the building.

Early sketches of the building took many iterations, but “Then and Now” struck a chord.

“It’s called the thread,” Elliott said. “We always like to embed our projects with something that has a philosophical point of view. A ‘why are we here’ kind of thing. Here, a thread is something you follow as you’re trying to solve a problem. There’s an idea or a series of ideas that you follow along the way. This thread, which goes all the way through the building and connects to other things on campus, is an important reminder of what science is all about. It’s about following this thread. And it isn’t always straight; it’s often circuitous trying to find a particular solution.

“We believe in embedding a building with more than just doors and windows and a roof and a floor. If you have a philosophical point of view, if you have a message that you’d like to send, there’s an energy that goes with that.”

The thread weaves around the building, leading visitors by labs and along classrooms. Each of the center’s labs possesses a unique feature – clear windows. As students, faculty and guests walk past each lab, they are offered an opportunity to peer in and see the ongoing work within.

“In other iterations, science is a mystery,” Mays said. “Here, you can walk through and you can see, whether you know what [researchers] are doing or not. You can understand something’s going on; somebody’s doing something in there. And if you’re able to go in and talk about it, that’s great. It piques interest.”

The center’s glass classrooms and labs further promote engagement as students face toward the teacher and away from the glass window, helping to keep learning focused at the front of the room.

Attention-to-detail didn’t stop at the building’s interior, however.

The concept for the exterior of the center is called “Then and Now,” which stemmed from early conversations with Betz and the executive leadership team.

“Dr. Betz said it needs to be a building that respects our history. His direction for us was ‘I need to capture the history of this campus, and I also need to make a statement about what the future is like,’” Elliott said. “Thatcher Hall is what part of the building is inspired by, so there’s a respect for history, but there’s also a looking forward.”

“[Betz] said one of his favorite things to do is to give someone a tour, and they start on the ‘then’ side, which is the west side of the building, and it has this really nice feeling, and the tile roof and all that. And when they come around to the east side, they’re sort of dumbfounded, like ‘wow, this is dramatically different.’ His point was that UCO is not necessarily what you expect.”

Exceeding expectations is a driving force for the present and future of the Donald Betz STEM Research and Learning Center.

“When Betz did his speech at the [STEM building] opening, he talked about timelessness,” Butler stated. “He said, ‘One hundred years from now, there will be people walking in this space, and what we’ve done will inspire them.’ And I think that’s a good reason why this building is named after him – the timelessness of it, the feeling that you get when you walk in – the energy, the inspiration.” ON