Metropolitan Community College Automotive Technology Facility

Located on the MCC South Omaha Campus, the MCC Auto Tech Facility is a 100,000 square-foot building that serves as home of the College’s Automotive Technology and Automotive Collision Technology programs. The program facilitates partnerships between the college and private industry partners such as Toyota, Scion, and Lexus. As one of the first educational institutions in the country to offer both programs under one roof, the merger created unique challenges for the design. The facility features state-of-the-art learning environments for students, faculty, and staff spread over two floors. Hands-on lab environments are located on the first floor of the facility. Fine dust from collision repairs must be separated from finishing areas and sensitive diagnostic equipment. To address these concerns, first floor spaces are divided into three sections and connected by garage doors. Exhaust hose reels hang from light gauge steel structure to avoid being damaged and mobile, while protecting indoor air quality. Classrooms, break areas, faculty and administrative offices, and a large showroom are located on the second floor. Chinese gardens, which are meant to be walked through in order, inspired the layout of the second floor. To further isolate noise and accommodate faculty offices and classrooms, the second floor is split into sections over learning labs below. As with Chinese garden design, jogging paths provide a sense of mystery and surprise, keeping occupants engaged. Bridges with abstracted cloud graphics connect the floors and frame views. These paths allow visitors to observe the activities below without disturbing classes or posing potential safety concerns. In order to make both programs more visible to the public, the two floors of the building are connected by ample amounts of interior glass. This allows visitors to see the entire building from the second floor, observing the educational activities taking place on the first floor. As part of LEED Silver certification and to counteract the large use of concrete, the designs incorporate patterns of biophilic design to promote connections with nature. Nooks with digitized algae bloom upholstery allow for a moment of refuge, while long views in the automotive bays and from the bridges create a sense of prospect. Pop-out study spaces suspended over native plantings for visual connections with nature, and a view of the campus. Wood elements throughout the building are located to be seen from below, connecting the occupants to natural materials. Organic forms such as honeycomb shapes are found in acoustical ceiling clouds and porcelain tile. Grout colors reference classic paint colors for cars. Clearstory windows allow diffuse sunlight into all spaces, allowing occupants to tune into the day, changing weather, and seasons. Vibrant colors and patterns provide a counterpoint to the mostly concrete first floor and a variety of furnishings allow students to gather in ways that are comfortable, contributing to a sense of psychological well-being. Red list free materials are used whenever possible to limit environmental toxins and a solar panel array on the roof provides 10 percent of the building's energy.