The Farris Engineering Center was originally built on The University of New Mexico campus in 1967. By the 2000s it was obvious that the building was inadequate for the departments housed there.
Distinguished Regents’ Professor Emeritus at the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering Abhaya Datye recalled the disadvantages of the old building and praised the renovation that has allowed the Engineering department to flourish and attract new students and created new funding opportunities. Datye joined the faculty in 1984 and recently celebrated 40 years at UNM.
2014 GO Bond election
Distinguished Regents’ Professor Emeritus Abhaya Datye
Ten years ago, the University asked New Mexico voters to approve a General Obligation Bond C (GO Bond C) that would allocate $20.5 million to renovate the Farris Engineering Center. The four-story, 67,000 square foot building housed Chemical Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, and Computer Science departments. The renovation would address critical safety and compliance issues and improve energy efficiency and layout of the building.
Renovation needs included:
- Complete redesign and renovation of research laboratory space
- Increased space for all three academic programs
- Upgrades to data lines
- New electrical and mechanical distribution systems
- ADA access
- Remediation for life-safety issues relating to exits and fire sprinkler systems
A review by the ABET accreditation committee for Computer Science found the condition of the building unsatisfactory and expressed concerns about future accreditations if the building was not renovated.
Time for an update
For several reasons, Datye said, “The old building just wasn’t a nice working environment.”
Melting snow and rain leaked into Datye’s basement laboratories.
“Sometimes you’d get a snowfall and there would be leaks and the water would drip down, sometimes along the wall, sometimes from the ceiling,” he said. A video made to promote the 2014 GO Bond shows expensive equipment covered with cardboard and plastic tarps to keep the water off.
Datye also recalled the original windows on the second floor were set high up in the walls. “We used a stepladder so we could look outside… We missed out on being connected with the outside world. You wouldn’t know if it was raining, snowing, or beautiful outside, unless you used a step ladder to look out the window to see what’s going on.”
In addition, ventilation was bad and contributed to a damp, dark environment. One graduate student told Datye that cockroaches in her basement office were crawling up her leg.
Office space was inconsistent.
“Some faculty, especially the most senior faculty, had large offices, way larger than they needed, while other building tenants had small, cramped spaces,” he said. “Overall, the space was built to a different standard, for a certain number of students and energy efficiency, but it was no longer appropriate for a modern, evolving department.”
The new Farris Engineering Center
After the GO Bond was approved by voters, students, faculty, and staff were relocated to other buildings on campus and construction began.
In 2018, the grand opening was held for the newly renovated Farris Engineering Center.
The Farris Engineering Center now provides modern learning and collaboration space for students and faculty with unique opportunities for donors to impact and support world-class education and research in science, technology, and engineering.
Improvements included updated audio-visual facilities for meetings and conferences and erasable walls in the student lounge for students to collaborate and work on their projects. Faculty could now have audio-video conferences and an attractive office for welcoming visitors. Offices were smaller in the newly renovated building but more functional. The basement was left as an open shell space for building future lab spaces.
“As we get more funding, the empty space in the basement of Farris is being remodeled to accommodate new research, new professors. So, this building is continually growing. Today in the basement you’ll see new labs are being built in what was empty space,” Datye said.
“It’s really designed well so it’s motivational for people to be here. It is a fantastic building. It makes such an impression when you have people come to visit. They see a very modern space, well lit, and really high tech.”
Distinguished Regents’ Professor Emeritus Abhaya Datye
The redesigned building was built also with the modern student in mind. Glass-enclosed collaboration spaces are evident throughout the building to encourage student and faculty collaboration in an open and interdisciplinary environment. There are also three digital monitors in the building to display messages and information, and extra-large LCD display screens are installed throughout the building in collaborative spaces.
“It’s really designed well so it’s motivational for people to be here,” Datye said. “It is a fantastic building. It makes such an impression when you have people come to visit. They see a very modern space, well lit, and really high tech.”
A notable difference is the natural light that was almost nonexistent in the 1967 Brutalist building, he said. Electrochromic glazing wraps the building envelope and electronically darkens and lightens to manage solar radiation without impeding the vast views of the campus and the surrounding City of Albuquerque. This high-tech glazing was the first of its kind on the UNM campus, making for an energy efficient and comfortable interior environment. The building is silver-level LEED certified-eligible, featuring LED lighting throughout, as well as high-efficiency mechanical and electrical equipment that achieves more than a 50 percent reduction in energy use.
Investing in the future
“This was a very timely and wise investment,” Datye said, noting that he has recently had visitors from Berkeley and Purdue universities, as well as Shell, and other prestigious companies.
“Engineering now has a showpiece building,” he continued. “When I give tours to prospective students and their parents, to companies that come to visit, they are truly impressed. I show them my lab and they say ‘Wow!’ Alumni who worked in Farris years ago come to visit and when they see it, they are simply blown away. They’re all envious when they come and visit us. This affects the quality of the research that’s done and that shows people that we can do high-quality work… Laboratory spaces are essential if we’re going to be a flagship university.”