Center for Wounded Veterans

                Today we visited the construction site on 906 W. Nevada St. What is soon to be the campus Center for Wounded Veterans is now just a crowded mess of sweaty men, wet paint, and construction tools that look dangerous.

                The first leg of our tour started in the basement where we can find all of the mechanical systems. While this is probably the part of the building with the most going on right now, it really wasn’t too interesting when you don’t know what’s going on in the different pipes. But it was cool to see how much planning goes behind the accessibility of each system and how to use the space that you have.

                As we moved up one level, we saw the main lobby/lounge space that will be available both for residents and the people who are just in the building temporarily. One of the major aspects of the design on this floor is the wall of windows where the lounge area is. One of the things most veterans want when they get back from war is to be able to see everything around them. They typically sit in the corner so everything is in front of them and nothing will sneak up on them. The purpose of this design is to help them become more comfortable with their surroundings and be able to not limit themselves to the corners of every room they are in.

                The second floor is home to some of the class rooms and PT rooms.  All of the residents will have access to physical therapy at this center. This floor was pretty bare at this time phase of the construction, but we did see that some of the mechanical systems will lie above the drop down ceiling of this floor. Another interesting aspect of design is that the original plan may not always be the plan used in the end. This was very evident in the first floor public bathrooms. While the original plans call for a hard ceiling, they have seen that they will have to have multiple access panels located at various areas of the ceiling to be able to reach the different mechanical things that need to be checked often. However, this is a lot of access panels, so one proposed change is to make this ceiling a drop down ceiling for easier access.

                The third floor is where the full-time residents will be housed. Each will have their own personal room that will have its own electric mobilization system to help the residents move around their dorm. The hope is that these rooms will help residents have easier access to their classes and be able to connect with other veterans on campus to help make their own burden lighter.

                It we very interesting to see a building currently under construction and hear about the many details, small or large, that go into the design process.