The University of Wyoming is giving members of the public a chance to voice their opinions on the exterior design plan for the new Engineering Education and Research Building.

A community meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 5:30 p.m. inside the atrium and auditorium of the Berry Biodiversity Conservation Center.

The UW Board of Trustees recently adopted a policy that appointed an exterior design advisory committee to the construction project in order to guide the strategy for the building’s appearance.

A meeting of community members to solicit public input on the exterior plans is also called for under the new policy.

Before and after the meeting, a visual rendering of the currently planned exterior will be available for review.  The meeting will include an opportunity for questions about the project following a presentation on the building’s design, which was created in conference with the exterior design advisory committee.

In order to maintain parts of the classical architectural tradition at UW, the exterior was designed to conform to the University’s new revision of its Historic Preservation Plan.

Committee members include Laramie City Council member Joe Shumway, UW Foundation President Ben Blalock, College of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Michael Pishko, UW Trustee John McKinley, and State Senator Phil Nicholas.

The Engineering Education and Research Building will include new areas for research and instruction as part of the University’s Tier-1 Engineering Initiative.  The building will house spaces such as an expanded drilling simulator facility, a new shop, and reconfigurable research labs with associated office spaces.

Construction of the building is expected to run from early 2017 through the summer of 2019.  It will be the single largest project of its type in the University of Wyoming’s history, at a cost of more than $100 million.  A Jackson firm, GE Johnson Construction, was chosen as the project's construction manager at risk.

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