The University of Tennessee at Martin, Latimer-Smith Engineering and Science Building

The new STEM building turns traditional makerspace “inside out” by  design with all spaces throughout the building able to be utilized for making and creative collaboration: with furniture robust and tinker-able, technology distributed for quick plug-n-play, and finishes exposed and durable—ground-face block walls, concrete floors, steel mullioned interior storefront, metal mesh ceilings—the entire building a teaching tool itself, with visibility into labs and studios. 

With its sweeping glass curtainwall and outdoor maker spaces, the Latimer-Smith Engineering and Science Building evokes a future focus and an invitation to engage with its STEM learning opportunities. The design expresses three critical paths for STEM success: experiential team-based learning and exploration, exposure to research early in a student’s academic career, and inclusive learning communities. Its array of teaching and research labs, fabrication shops and varied social learning settings fulfills UTM’s desire to create an exciting new environment for STEM education and a vital addition to the UT Martin campus. 

Modular, flexible laboratories for engineering instruction and research occupy the first two levels of the L-shaped building. On the ground floor, an engineering courtyard framed by the building’s two wings allows students to expand their studies and apply their knowledge with project fabrication and testing areas. The building houses a mix of shared and interdisciplinary program spaces, including crafting maker labs, project studios, wood and metal shops, open computer labs, active learning studios, and entrepreneurial pitch and community partner spaces, all clustered around a generous split-level commons and café that invites social exchange. Student organizations, cohort spaces and faculty offices anchor the ends of each wing, further encouraging interaction.

The university designated the last available parcel of land on its main quadrangle for a new academic building devoted to STEM curricula. The building’s placement on the site enhances campus space and contributes to a network of campus environments working together as a connected ecosystem. The site was previously a combination of small structures and surface parking; the new plan reduces vehicular presence and solidifies a direction for new green malls and pedestrian paths. The team took special care in design and construction to preserve existing mature oaks and added water-efficient native plants to frame outdoor spaces.

Partnering with local architect TLM Associates, SmithGroup provided architecture, design, structural engineering and laboratory planning.  For undergraduate students, the Latimer-Smith Engineering and Science Building builds meaningful connections with STEM education and campus life.