New Building Advances Engineering Education, Research at Duke

Construction is complete on the 150,000-square-foot Wilkinson Building for the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Skanska USA served as general contractor on the project, which will house new engineering, education, research and entrepreneurship initiatives that bring together departments, faculty and students from across the university.

The five-story concrete structure, which expands spaces dedicated to student education and programming in engineering by 50%, was built using Duke stone and Duke-blended face brick. These two materials are key elements of the architectural identity of Duke’s West Campus and have been used throughout the school to create the Collegiate Gothic style of many of the original and new university buildings.

Two floors are devoted to student learning with flexible active-learning classrooms, teaching and design laboratories, and specialized educational centers focused on entrepreneurship and innovation. It also includes a 200-seat auditorium with an adjacent Learning Commons that provide students with technological and physical resources so they can collaborate effectively. The three remaining floors house “research neighborhoods” focused on health innovation, computing and intelligent systems and environmental health.

The building also features generous collaboration spaces, conference rooms and gathering spaces throughout.

Photos courtesy of Charlie Sarratt of SkySite Images.