The Gorrie Center is home to the McWhorter School of Building Science. It opened in 2006 and was the first LEED certified education building in the state of Alabama. The building is equipped with unmatched technology to assist our students in their everyday learning.
On the first floor, we have the construction visualization lab, or as we like to call it, the vis lab, and it is equipped with a 27 monitoring video wall. This lab allows for complete engagement into any presentation, and students are able to create high detail construction models, and show them in this space. It really shows how the industry is going to communicate in the future.
Next to this lab are our three competition team rooms.
Each lab has a large LED TV that allows students to connect to, and to work simultaneously, both in the space, and with people at remote locations. There are excellent spaces for students to work together as they prepare for construction competitions.
Finally, on the first floor are the Career Services and Center for Construction, Innovation and Collaboration or CCIC offices. The Building Science Program has a dedicated Career Services specialist, who helps identify internship, co-op, and full time job opportunities. Undergraduate research opportunities are offered through the Center for Construction, Innovation and Collaboration.
So on the second floor, we have a computer lab designated for our technology related classes. This classroom is specifically made to do that. The third floor we have the ISA classroom that has screens 360 degrees.
The Robins and Morton Construction field lab allows students to put into practice what they learn in the Gorrie center on a three acre job site using top of the line tools--
Where students will get the opportunities to do real hands on construction work, and serving the community at the same time.
Students also learn about safety in construction, and earn a 30 hour OSHA card while at the field lab. Moving back to the Gorrie Center. Our final space to highlight in the building is the thesis lab.
The lab is where the senior students in their final semester work on their terminal project. They have an individual cubicle with their dedicated computer monitors, and space to sort of set out all of their construction documents. The great thing about it is the students are all in there together. So a lot of the learning that happens during their thesis is peer learning. Now they also talk to faculty and get advice to the faculty but about most of what they learn goes on between one another.
