A building under construction in the Skou Hall parking lot will provide much-needed laboratory space for Ohio State ATI's landscape and construction programs. With a significant amount of the academic year taking place during what would be considered "off season" in those industries, the laboratory space will provide 2,376 square feet of climate-controlled space during cold weather.
According to Ben King, coordinator of the construction management and construction systems management programs, he will use the entire building as a teaching tool, not just the space it provides for construction activities. "I intend to have the students build some permanent wall segments so that we can perform the basic wiring activities that we do in the electricity class. I also intend to utilize the heating and duct system that has been installed for diagnostic and flow testing for my mechanical systems class. There will be permanent displays created for lab teaching and demonstration purposes. There will also be various sensors placed in the walls for collecting data to bring back to the class for analysis and interpretation."
The landscape program will be using the space for teaching equipment safety as well as for landscape construction projects when weather isn't conducive to working outside, explains Laura Deeter, coordinator of the landscape program. Temporary construction projects could be installed in "sandboxes" similar to the testing stations installed at the landscape certification testing site.
Ironically, inclement weather has been meddling with the completion of the building, but it should be ready for occupancy in April.