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Overview: 

The new Pratt & Whitney Building at YCCC is designed to allow the community college to expand their program to accommodate more students and provide modern, flexible spaces for learning. The building includes six standard classrooms, a learning lab, a combined lecture hall and flexible classroom, and independent study spaces of various sizes. Sustainable technologies were incorporated into the design. As the first free-standing building to be constructed since the original facilities were developed at the campus, this project represents a step forward in the school’s overall master plan to develop facilities that accommodate the changing needs of community college students.

The building is sited to take advantage of views and access from the main entrance drive.  The building, along with the one existing building on site, frame what will become a pedestrian-oriented space at the center of the campus.  The building location was carefully selected to also preserve views to the wooded aspects of the site. In addition to the building, the design includes development of student parking areas, a pedestrian plaza, utility services, and off-site improvements related to traffic. The work included a complex permitting process involving local, state, and federal agencies.

The building facade was stepped on the quad side to highlight interior hierarchies. Exterior building materials overlap each other to create a sense of movement and activity. Red brick is used to draw a connection to the existing building, while metal panel shingles in a running bond pattern contrast. Staggered fenestration is an informal counterpoint to the more classical existing building, which allows the existing building to reference familiar symbols of academia while the new building captures the spirit of innovation and progress.

Client: York County Community College
Features:
  • Siting the building to create an academic quadrangle
  • Materials on the building exterior create a sense of movement and activity
  • Red brick ties in with the existing academic building
  • Metal panel shingles, staggered fenestration, and a stepped facade are a modern counterpoint to the more traditional existing building