The four-story multipurpose student support complex is the first point of contact for students attending Florida International University (FIU). The FIU Student Academic Center is built to inspire with its burnished finished architectural precast façade and extremely angled fin panels and their metallic look.
The idea of shaded palm fronds inspired the building façade strategy. The window openings, which look like the fins or gills, are central to the building’s distinctive look and are a strategic lighting choice, based on how a palm frond diffuses light in the environment. Through shade studies, Multistudio was able to balance natural light and temperature, limiting the native heat and keeping interiors cool.
The student center has a unique appearance, which, like a chameleon, changes as the light changes. The designer began with a metal panel concept but converted their plan to use architectural precast concrete to achieve cost and durability benefits.
Three-dimensional models were used to perfect the design. The 2-inch thick finned panels required coordination between Balfour Beatty and the design team to support the highly complex openings, which feature three pieces of mirrored glazing and six precast concrete pieces.
“This was such a magnificent use of precast. The fins just made the exterior architecture beautiful, as well as, bringing light into the building. It makes you want to see from the outside how the light feels when you are sitting inside one of these rooms.”
- Marty Huie, Jacobs Engineering Group
2019 PCI Design Award Jury Member
FIU constructs its campus with resiliency in mind. Through the help of a FEMA grant, FIU holds the designation of Disaster-Resistant University and is home to the Academy for International Disaster Preparedness.
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LOCATION
Miami, FL
ARCHITECT
Multistudio (formerly Gould Evans)