Aims Workforce Innovation Center
Engineering Applied Learning Through Industrial-Scale Mass Timber Design
The Aims Workforce Innovation Center at Aims Community College in Greeley, Colorado, establishes a forward-looking hub for applied technical education and advanced industrial training. Designed by OZ Architecture, the two-story, 45,000-square-foot Type III-B educational facility features expansive, flexible environments that house modern fabrication and testing laboratories, dynamic innovation spaces, specialized outdoor testing grounds, faculty offices, and contemporary classrooms. By leveraging prefabricated Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT), the project demonstrates how mass timber systems can meet the demanding spatial, structural, and acoustic requirements of hands-on industrial education while providing an inspiring, biophilic atmosphere for future trades professionals.
Open-Span Engineering for High-Bay Innovation and Labs
To accommodate industrial-scale fabrication machinery, material testing rigs, and reconfigurable lab benches, the design prioritized large, uninterrupted floorplates with minimal interior column obstruction. Exposed SmartLam CLT floor and roof diaphragms were selected to deliver the structural stiffness, two-way spanning capabilities, and robust load-bearing capacities required for active lab environments. Leaving the CLT panels exposed throughout the high-bay workspaces and collaborative learning areas serves a dual purpose: it creates a durable, impact-resistant interior that withstands daily shop activity, while visually celebrating exposed engineering as a transparent teaching tool for students learning modern construction and manufacturing trades.
Project Highlights
High-Flexibility Technical Education: Delivers 45,000 square feet of high-bay fabrication labs, testing zones, classrooms, and offices configured for modern workforce training.
Structural CLT Diaphragms: SmartLam precision-manufactured and supplied the high-performance Cross-Laminated Timber panels, providing high strength-to-weight performance and predictable structural spans across both levels.
Streamlined Assembly Hardware: Incorporated pre-engineered Simpson Strong-Tie fasteners, structural straps, and integrated lifting devices to optimize rigging and accelerate crane hook cycles.
Biophilic Industrial Environment: Features exposed natural timber surfaces that provide superior acoustic dampening in loud lab settings, enhanced natural daylighting, and enduring durability for high-traffic educational spaces.
Low-Carbon Educational Benchmark: Replaces carbon-intensive traditional commercial framing with a sustainable timber structural system, aligning college infrastructure with regional environmental and efficiency goals.
Technical Execution
Constructed under the general contracting management of Roche Constructors, the building’s rapid delivery hinged on close pre-construction detailing and coordinated trade handoffs. Engineering specialists KL&A Engineers and Builders worked closely with SmartLam North America to optimize panel layouts, connection geometries, and load-transfer interfaces prior to fabrication. SmartLam precision-machined the CLT panels off-site to exacting tolerances, enabling clean delivery of an erection-ready timber package. Utilizing specialized Simpson Strong-Tie lifting hardware, straps, and structural fasteners, the erection crews completed panel picks and hardware seatings with high efficiency and tight site choreography. This prefabricated approach dramatically reduced on-site construction noise and timeline friction, allowing Aims Community College to open a cutting-edge workforce training center on schedule.