The new Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, located in Moses Lake, will benefit approximately 300 high school students each term from 12 regional school districts by preparing them with skills and certifications for highly desirable family-wage jobs in the regional economy. The 43,570-square-foot Phase 1 facility on 8.1 acres will house state-of-the-art laboratories, classrooms, technology, and extensive high-tech equipment in support of programs in Advanced Manufacturing, Computer Science AP, Culinary Arts, Life Sciences/Global Health, Multi Craft Trades/Pre Apprenticeship, Pre-Engineering, and Professional Medical Careers.
NAC Architecture assisted in evaluation of potential sites, master planning future expansion and phasing, development of the comprehensive project budget and facilitating project prioritization via Washington State’s specific skills center funding process. NAC also helped determine and design required facilities to support the various skills departments and implement high-performance Washington Sustainable Schools Protocol (WSSP) strategies, including substantive on-site solar power generation into this non-traditional, future-leaning educational facility.
The Phase 1 design sensitively considers how the approximately 20,000-square-foot Phase 2 will be added in the future, including provision for expanded classroom, indoor shop and outdoor work areas to support the planned Ag to Market Automation, Cloud Farming/Smart Energy, Physical Therapy, Protective Services and Veterinary Sciences programs.
