Construction has completed on Clemson University’s 16,000-square-foot Andy Quattlebaum Outdoor Education Center. Constructed primarily out of Southern yellow pine, the building is the second mass timber facility in the nation.
The facility’s architects, Cooper Carry, had its design team collaborate with the university’s Wood Utilization + Design Institute to explore mass timber options, which is a framing style utilizing large solid wood panels for wall, floor, and roof construction for Clemson’s first mass timber structure on campus.
“While mass timber continues to gain traction in the construction industry, there is significant untapped potential for creative ways to apply the building material,” said Cooper Carry principal Brian Campa. “The ability to impact our environment in a positive way is inspiring. We are proud of our work with Clemson University to create the Andy Quattlebaum Outdoor Education Center using a series of Southern yellow pine mass timber systems, and hope the design advances conversations and confidence around the use of innovative sustainable systems on college campuses.”
The complex utilizes cross-laminated timber and glue-laminated timber as a substitute for steel or concrete throughout the center for beams, shear walls, floors and roof slabs. Other wood systems are also used throughout the facility. For example, the on-site boathouse is enclosed in a passively ventilated skin of local cypress, and the exterior paneling on the main building is made with wood-impregnated resin panels.
To conserve operational costs, the facility is designed to run on minimal heating and cooling loads. It features expansive windows to allow natural daylighting into the building along with sensor-controlled lighting, large-scale fans to help reduce cooling loads and passive cooling for boat storage spaces. In addition, this building combines environmentally sensitive design principles such as orientation, large overhangs, recyclable materials and carbon storing materials.
“While the Center is intended to first and foremost promote wellness among students, the implications of Cooper Carry’s innovative design extend much further,” WU + D at Clemson University director Patricia A. Layton said. “We believe mass timber as a competitive construction material will revolutionize how we think about contemporary development, and the completion of this facility provides a strong foundation for future innovation at Clemson and beyond.”
Located at the Snow Family Outdoor Fitness and Wellness Complex, the center consists of two multi-use classroom studios, which will be used for yoga, rowing, wellness seminars, nutrition, expedition planning and other events. The facility also includes a resource center for trip planning, equipment rentals, a bike repair / rental shop, a boathouse, covered patio, lounge and second-level deck overlooking Lake Hartwell.
