McGranahan Architects developed the Predesign Report for the Tacoma Community College’s Early Learning Center to replace an aging and inadequate building on campus. We were later retained by the College to design the new 13,000 SF facility which provides classrooms for Infants, Toddlers, Woddlers, and Preschoolers (ages 3-5); doubling their capacity to 116 children. The Early Learning Center also provides a classroom for the Early Childhood Education/Paraeducator programs. Design of the exterior play spaces was as critical as the interior learning environments with a variety of materials and activities. The $4.2 million facility was funded by TCC students, the TCC Foundation, and a State matching grant.

The Early Learning Center received LEED Gold Certification. The building has natural ventilation, operable windows, and radiant floor heating. Through the use of CO2 and occupancy sensors, the ventilation systems adapt to the changing needs of building occupants and maximize energy savings. Bonus LEED innovation credits were achieved through a Green Housekeeping policy for environmental cleaning practices, as well as a Green Building Education program that communicates the sustainable features of the facility.

The Cascade Building is 247,000 SF on 5 levels with the renovation planned for 3 phases. Phase 1, completed in 2009, includes 56,000 SF of renovation with 2,000 SF of new addition and began with a Predesign in the OFM format. It included a black box theater, expands the library and media services, new Admissions and Student Services, links and integrates a clear “way-finding” system into a multi-story building that has suffered from poorly conceived expansions over the past 30 years. This phase also creates a new accessible entrance to the building which brings students and visitors to the heart of the building for core services.

Phase 2 of the Cascade Core Renovation includes 72,900 SF of renovation with 4,500 SF of new addition and began with a Predesign in the OFM format. It further expands and renovates the library and media services as well as improvements to Administrative, District and Faculty offices. It provides for a new entrance on the north side of the building as well as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing upgrades. Phase 3 will complete the renovations to the building and includes approximately 70,000 SF of renovation with the addition of new general purpose classrooms.

Learn more about Phase 3 of this project. 

The Sharon M. McGavick Student Center serves as the iconic entry to the Lakewood campus. While some of the forms and materials borrow from the existing campus, the Student Center is a unique building on campus which distinguishes it from the surrounding academic facilities. The new Student Center provides resources and exciting spaces that enhance the student and staff experience and add to the Clover Park Technical College identity.

The building provides three main functions: Academic, Student Amenities, and Assembly. The Academic program includes a clothing store, floral store, floral lab, and classrooms. The retail spaces in this group support the academic curriculum and are run by students. The next group includes Student Amenities such as the bookstore, student government, game room, student lounge, and TV room. The Assembly group includes food service and multipurpose room. A dining area with views of Mount Rainier is extended to the exterior through a patio for outdoor use.

The Health Science Facility supports the rapidly expanding community and program needs in the nursing and health sciences fields. The spaces and programs support academic study, technical investigation, and vocational preparation. Unique to this project is the emphasis on integrative space for informal learning and the use of green space to educate and enliven the building. Many of the building spaces emulate medical industry uses and blend with the numerous social and informal study areas provided to develop the teamwork and interpersonal skills that model the balance of the medical profession, holistic healing, wellness, and nurturing environments.

The building is arranged in two wings to organize technical/lab spaces and general-oriented instruction around a medicinal garden. The garden provides access to views, daylight, and outdoor space as a living reminder of the many plants, environmental, and holistic aspects of healthcare. The 56,000 SF building houses a Chemistry Lab, Anatomy & Physiology Lab, Computer Labs, Classrooms, and numerous collaboration spaces.

The project received LEED Gold Certification through many high-performing systems, salvaged materials, and a sustainability educational system based on the periodic table. Salvaged timbers from the old building were utilized to construct the grand stair in the main lobby. The architectural form explores the use of layering and medicine drawers as metaphorical types of the healthcare environment.

The South Campus Academic Building began with a program confirmation and refinement of an existing predesign, ultimately leading to this new 44,557 SF building nestled in the center of its South Campus. The $9.6 million facility houses Biotechnology, Home and Family Life, a new Library, general classrooms, computer labs, Student Commons, and a Distance Education/Meeting Center. As the only building to house non-technical instructional space, the building provides shared academic services to students from all programs on the South Campus.

The design of the building takes cues from the architectural expression on all three of Bates’ Tacoma campuses and defines a unifying aesthetic that will serve the College well into the future. A new pedestrian “spine” passes thru the new building and welcomes students from the north and south parts of the campus. A landscaped plaza was created as an outdoor gathering area near the Meeting Center.

The Bates Technical College Advanced Technology Center addresses community needs and introduces STEM-oriented programs to students pursuing vocational and higher education goals as well as life-long learning, particularly with women and minority students who have been historically underrepresented in these fields. Personal networks and familiarity have created an attractive environment for new students and industry partners. Potential students see projects, technology, students working on computers, and they can envision themselves in these programs.

The ATC focuses on broadcast technologies and STEM-oriented programs. Unique learning arrangements are created by co-locating collaborative spaces as educational linkages between faculty, students, project areas, and instructional spaces. Multiple modes of teaching/learning are blended to provide different capabilities for cross-teaching and greater educational effectiveness. Project-oriented work, collaborative discussion, inquiry, and interaction among faculty and students are heightened through intentional connectivity. Integrated social learning spaces support learning and build community.

The building uses transparency on many levels to expose and express systems and programs as learning tools. The main building server resides in a two-story glass tower and functions as an immersive teaching space. An interactive U Tube Cube promotes social learning and is a podium for walk-up access to media, student work, and interaction.