Clover Park Technical College

This building co-locates Clover Park Technical College's manufacturing-related programs and workforce development activities in a signature, state-of-the-art facility. Located at the main vehicular entry to campus, the Center for Advanced Manufacturing Technology (CAMT) is a gateway to the College. The space surrounding the building includes a roundabout and monument sign to signify entry, calm traffic, and improve safety and wayfinding. A plaza knits the building into the campus fabric and provides a place for the community to gather, creating a new identity for the College and applied technology education. 

Inside, CAMT puts programs on display, promotes a sense of professionalism, and encourages connectivity and life-long learning. Brick walls, steel-braced frames, and broad glass surfaces meld the worlds of academia and industry in a durable, flexible space. Dedicated study spaces, active learning classrooms, and faculty offices are organized around the central atrium called "the 5th Lab", which provides space for group projects, demonstrations, displays, and industry events. Big windows enable students to watch the action in the labs. Monumental graphics in the 5th Lab illustrate high-demand occupations and recall the College's history. 

Classrooms and labs adapt to evolving programmatic and pedagogical needs, with common infrastructure providing long-term flexibility. All labs are equipped with an overhead utility grid that carries power, IT, compressed air, water, and task lighting. Specialized equipment in fabrication labs for mechatronics, manual and CNC manufacturing, composites, and non-destructive testing create the foundation for career-ready graduates. 

Maximizing Scope & Budget through Design-Build

Through extensive target value design efforts, our design-build team helped the College overcome a budget reduction challenge without compromising desired program space or amenities. The creative design for a compact building footprint reduced site development costs and preserved existing parking while exceeding the owner’s assignable square footage goal by 15%.

Effective design-build planning also enabled a collaborative mitigation plan when the team discovered PCE contaminants under the existing building after completing demolition. The solution included safely disposing of the material on site and re-sequencing the foundation construction, enabling the team to avoid over $200,000 of haul-off costs. This level of teamwork ultimately enabled us to achieve substantial completion four (4) weeks earlier than planned.