Opened in 1972, the renovation and expansion of the Zachry Engineering Center continued on the campus of Texas A&M University, completely transforming the existing 5-story, 330,000 square foot (sq. ft.) building with an addition of 200,000 sq. ft. of new space. The engineering college currently serves more than 11,000 undergraduate and 3,000 graduate students, which already makes it one of the largest engineering schools in the country, but once the renovations are complete, the facility will be unlike any other structure of its kind in the nation. Upon completion, the complex will be become the Engineering Education Complex (EEC) and will be used exclusively for undergraduate engineering education. Departing from traditional classrooms and lecture halls, the 530,000 sq. ft. complex will create a unique learning environment including design and fabrication shared-use laboratories and collaborative space that supports the University’s ambitious plan to increase engineering enrollment from its current level to 25,000 students by 2025.
Z6 Commissioning provided building envelope performance testing, including air chamber pressurization and smoker tracer testing per ASTM E1186 on an on-site mock-up. This test calls for an airtight chamber to be installed to the interior or exterior of an air barrier system, using a motorized fan to create a pressure differential across the specimen. By introducing smoke to the higher pressure side of the specimen, air leakage can be determined and/or located if and when smoke appears on the lesser pressure side of the specimen.
