Portland State University Constructs Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology

Portland State University (PSU) is constructing the $44.5-million Northwest Center for Engineering, Science and Technology in Portland, Ore. The five-story, 130,000-sf facility will house the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Intelligent Transportation Systems Laboratory, 50 new teaching and research laboratories, additional classrooms and offices, and an auditorium. Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership to meet the U.S. Green Building Councils' LEEDTM Silver certification, the project includes resource-saving features such as rainwater harvesting to supply water for toilets, and natural ventilation in its five-story atrium. The project involves drilling two wells, respectively 240 and 750 feet deep, that will function as the heart of a geothermal heating and air conditioning system for building. The system will utilize the 55 degree Fahrenheit water in the Troutdale gravel aquifer beneath PSU to act as a heat sink in summer and to supply warm air in winter. The general contractor is Lease Crutcher Lewis Builders; Gerding/Edlen Development Co. is the project manager.