The B.E. & W.R. Miller BuildLab will provide a home for the Design Build program, providing a covered space out of sun and rain for students to work. The building is named for First Florida founder B.E. Miller and his son, W. Robert Miller, via a gift made by W. Robert (Bob) Miller and his wife, Cathy.
Dean Rodolphe el-Khoury kicked off the groundbreaking program, noting the significance of Design Build, what it means for students and what the program has accomplished:
“The Design Build program at the University of Miami began formally in 2009. There had been occasional efforts that took on the architectural project from conception to construction but the Design Build program was formalized in 2009 when Jim Adamson of the infamous Jersey Devils studio came to U-SoA and initiated the program with Rocco Ceo. Together they shaped a program that primarily takes on projects for not-for-profits and underserved communities,” el-Khoury said. “Students execute the architectural project from beginning to end: they design, produce working drawings, do the cost estimation, and build the project in only 14 weeks.”
Ceo designed the new building, at no cost to the University.
The projects designed in the studio are meant to produce prototypes that can be adapted to other situations and needs. So far, the projects have included a mobile cafe, mobile organic kitchen, mobile sanitary facility for use by migrant farm workers, an eco-tent prototype for the Everglades National Park, a mobile orchid propagation lab for Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden and Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and a coffee kiosk for the U-SoA campus.The program is committed to working in minimally invasive ways and with green materials, so students learn to think, design and build in a responsible way. Students seek materials that are renewable and have a positive impact on the environment. They work with salvaged wood and other recycled materials whenever possible. They ingeniously shape them into useful and sustainable artifacts with equal measure of elegance and economy. Most importantly, Design Build is the primary opportunity for U-SoA students to experience hands-on learning. The “learning through making” pedagogy expands the students skill sets and talents by plunging them into the messy reality of the physical world, an experience that is increasingly removed from the digitized realm of design.
Dean el-Khoury mentioned that Bob Miller was inspired to support the Design Build program philanthropically after visiting the mobile orchid propogation lab that created for Fairchild and MDCPS. “I say: prepare to find your high expectation well exceeded… blown away… once this facility is in place, lending support to the challenging task of building a kinder and greener world,” el-Khoury said. He also recognized both Coastal Construction and Beth and Jay Lotspeich for their early support of the BuildLab project.
President Julio Frenk attended the groundbreaking and introduced naming donors Bob and Cathy Miller. President Frenk recognized the importance of the new building, calling it a first-of-its-kind facility in South Florida. “The BuildLab will enable our students and faculty to move swiftly from the drafting phase to completion of structures that solve problems in sustainable ways,” he said. “Giving students the opportunity to guide a process—from concept to fruition—enables them to witness the real-world impact of their work.”
Bob Miller, an alumnus in architectural engineering (BSAE, ’77), has been a member of the UM Citizens Board and Board of Trustees. Miller “always knew he wanted to be a constructor.” Today, he is the president of First Florida. He said that his father, B.E. Miller, made him learn by working in the field. Miller said he learned about working with concrete, steel and wood by building the stairwells at Concourse H of Miami International Airport and knows the importance of hands-on learning, which motivated him to support the project.
The BuildLab is slated to open in early 2017.
Building Features:
• A 40’ by 40’ concrete frame with 17.5’ high ceilings.
• An open-air structure that protects faculty and students from weather conditions.
• A series of containers, around the structure’s perimeter, outfitted to hold building materials and tools needed for building, allowing the main space to remain open and usable for construction.
• The walls are composed of louvered panels with inset doors, that encourage air circulation and secure the site during off-hours.
• A double height roll-up door located on one of the structure’s elevations, sized to the Florida Department of Transportation’s specifications to accommodate loading projects on a flatbed truck for transportation to the site for assembly.
