Kent State University is a public university with an enrollment of nearly 30,000 students, located in Kent, Ohio, the largest city in Portage County, Ohio. The College of Aeronautics and Engineering (formerly College of Applied Engineering, Sustainability, and Technology) was an early project in a program of new construction on campus. The facility brought the School of Aeronautics, School of Applied Engineering, the School of Sustainability and Environmental Engineering, and the School of Construction Management into one building. The facility is located in the Science Corridor on campus, in close proximity to additional labs and other facilities.
The 55,000 SF building has two stories and a basement, housing classrooms, laboratories and offices for the College, which offers programs in aviation, aeronautics, environmental engineering, computer engineering, and construction management. The structure is framed with composite steel beams and steel joists, supported by steel columns and a load-bearing masonry wall core. Steel braced framed provide resistance to lateral forces. Challenging soil conditions at the site led to the investigation of various foundation systems, with the system chosen consisting of auger-cast piles drilled to a depth of forty feet, and a two-way framed concrete slab in the basement. A new utility tunnel connects the building to the existing mechanical systems for the University.
