WSSU New Student Success Center Wins the 2015 AEI Award for Excellence in Electrical Design

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - April 14, 2015 - PRLog -- The American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Architectural Engineering Institute (AEI) awarded Clark Nexsen the 2015 Professional Project Award for Excellence in Electrical Designfor the Winston-Salem State University Hill Hall Renovation & New Student Success Center.This year, the ASCE awarded 13 organizations that work within the architectural engineering industry with professional project awards.

The WSSU Student Success Center, previously known as Hill Hall, was originally designed as a science building in 1964 which sat in the heart of WSSU’s campus, vacant for seven years. WSSU decided to renovate the existing 31,873 square-feet of usable space into a vibrant, attractive success center.

Previously avoided by students and faculty, the building is now a campus focal point offering academic departments for language arts, quantitative skills, computer testing, tutoring, supplemental instructions, career services, technology support, and international / study-abroad programs, as well as offices for the University College.

Extensive planning went into the lighting design for this renovation, with a main focus on enhancing natural light and incorporating sustainability. Working in an open, naturally lit environment energizes students and brings positivity to working environments. The design team accomplished this by maximizing window space, including deep window recesses, exterior sunshades for harsh sunlight, and using pendent mounted luminaires with a direct / indirect light distribution to mimic the indirect daylight as sunlight fades. Inside the building, decorative lighting is used in soft-seating / lounge spaces to promote a casual, inviting atmosphere.

Sustainable lighting features include spaces with occupancy lighting, two preset light levels with full range dimming, and daylighting controls. Hill Hall recently achieved LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in recognition of sustainability. Noll Kretschmann and Peter Aranyi from Clark Nexsen’s Charlotte-based design team accepted the award on March 27 at the AEI Conference in Milwaukee, Wisc. The AEI Professional Project Award program publicly acknowledges outstanding achievement in design and construction of buildings and educates students and professionals in the art and science of an integrated approach to architectural engineering.

Hill Hall Renovation & New Student Success Center also recently won two 2015 Certificate of Merit Awards from the North Carolina State Building Commission for excellence in design and excellence in construction.

View a full list of 2015 AEI Professional Project Award winners on the ASCE website: http://www.asce.org/architectural-engineering/news/20150401-2015-aei-professional-project-award-winners/

About Clark Nexsen
Clark Nexsen (http://www.clarknexsen.com/) is a national architectural and engineering firm providing innovative design solutions to U.S. and global clients. Through collaboration and the development of a wide range of expertise, their focus remains constant:  extraordinary effort to make projects work for their clients. Specializing in higher education, Clark Nexsen is ranked among Building Design + Construction’s Top 10 University Architecture Firms and has been named to the Architect 50 by Architect magazine for the past three years.