Dallas, Texas - The American Council of Engineering Companies of Texas (ACEC Texas) has awarded JQ the Eminent Conceptor Award, the highest statewide engineering excellence award, for the firm’s structural engineering work on the Zachry Engineering Education Complex (Zachry EEC) renovation and expansion project at Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, according to JQ’s CEO Stephen H. Lucy, PE.

The Zachry EEC project also earned JQ an ACEC Texas Gold Medal in the Structural Systems category and an ACEC National Recognition Award. “We are honored to have received these awards and the national recognition for our structural engineering expertise on this project,” says Lucy.

As the structural engineer of record and a consultant to the prime firm TreanorHL, JQ was involved in the reimagining and expansion of the Zachry EEC which is the cornerstone of the College of Engineering (COE) on the campus of Texas A&M University (TAMU).

In 2013, the TAMU COE launched the 25 By 25 initiative to enhance the quality of engineering education, to shape the engineer of the future and respond to the workforce needs of industry. The COE aimed to increase enrollment from 14,000 students in 2013 to 25,000 students by 2025 by transforming the engineering classroom into a 21st century model with a focus on technology enabled learning, hands-on projects, and collaborative, multidisciplinary learning spaces.

The first major step towards this goal occurred with the completion of the Zachry EEC which now stands at 525K sf and was achieved by renovating the original 300K sf building, vertical expansion of the original building and two five-story building additions.

Michael K. Young, president of Texas A&M University, stated at the dedication ceremony, the Zachry Engineering Education Complex is a “stunning feat of engineering.” The facility contains technology-enhanced active-learning studios, interdisciplinary laboratories, 60,000 sf of makerspace (design center containing machining and fabrication equipment), a student career center, study and gathering spaces, engineering-inspired art, and a 13,000 sf green roof terrace.

Much of the building structure is concealed by architectural finishes; however, the building contains an abundance of structure on display: architecturally exposed structural steel canopies and trellises with spans in excess of 70 feet, a 3,800 sf steel-framed skylight structure over a central atrium, exposed cast-
in-place concrete structure, active-learning (seating) stair to promote collaboration, and an engineering

quadrangle with a rain garden, shade structures and engineering-focused artwork. Interior floor-to-ceiling storefront provides visual access into the fabrication center and engineering laboratories to put engineering education and experiments on full display.

According to JQ’s principal Carlo Taddei, PE, “The most complex requirement was to make all of the exterior load-bearing precast concrete on the original building disappear.” In addition to the existing precast elements that were 10 foot wide columns, there was a void space in the middle of each element which served as a mechanical chase. All loadbearing precast concrete wall elements were replaced by a new steel exoskeleton while retaining all of the existing four floors supported by the original precast.

The Zachry EEC is now the largest academic building on campus with 525K sf of space, accessible to engineering students 24/7 which has increased the utilization and efficiency of the building. To many, the Zachry EEC is so unrecognizable since its transformation that many believe the original 300K sf building was demolished. In reusing 80 percent of the original building, significant economic and sustainable benefits were achieved.