The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD), Sciences Building Dean's Office

The newly constructed Dean’s suite within the LEED Gold-certified Sciences Building at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) expands on the facility’s forward-looking, modern design by Stantec and the university’s commitment to sustainability as supported by UTD’s Facilities & Economic Development (FED) department.

The Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceiling system in the Dean’s suite features a biophilic and geologically inspired Stone color selected by the Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dr. David Hyndman, a geoscientist. The bright white panels unify the look and performance of the ceilings installed throughout the entire Sciences Building. The attractive suite enhances comfort, productivity and wellbeing for the faculty, staff, students and visitors.

At the Science Building’s 2024 dedication celebration event, Dr. Hyndman praised the facility saying, “This remarkable building is incredibly important to us as School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics. It serves as a clear testament of progress within the school.”

“We have changed the face of this specific area, and indeed, the entire campus,” added UTD FED vice president, Dr. Calvin Jamison. “At the University of Texas at Dallas, we do it big and we do it right.” ¹

"Completed in 2020, the 187,200-square-foot Sciences Building is a four-story building with a fifth-floor mechanical penthouse. At the time of the building’s opening, the fourth floor was left as unfinished, shelled space as part of a value-engineering strategy, according to UTD FED project manager Carmen Wright, RID.

“In 2021, Dr. David Hyndman was named the new Dean. As part of building out the fourth floor, his suite of offices were relocated from Founder’s North, a much older building, to the new Sciences Building,” said Wright. She added, “Completed in October 2024, it was designed by Stantec, the same architecture team that designed the rest of the building. We also wanted to keep the same materials, finishes and specifications. Rockfon’s white acoustic ceiling tiles were used throughout the whole building and in the Dean’s suite, too.”

“We know what to expect from Rockfon ceilings. It works well for us,” observed Wright. “This was a big install and our first fully Rockfon building on our campus. It’s been very successful.”

The 5,500-square-foot Dean’s corner suite consists of a reception area, two breakrooms, 15 offices, one large conference room and a collaborative area. Meeting the project’s aesthetic and performance requirements, UTD FED worked with Stantec, which specified Rockfon Tropic® white and Rockfon® Color-all™ Stone acoustic stone wool ceiling panels installed in a Chicago Metallic® 4200 Integrity™ 9/16-inch exposed suspension system.

The combination of Rockfon panels’ square tegular narrow edge with the Integrity system creates a double-reveal ceiling design. Adding to the premium appearance, the metal suspension system was finished to match the white and Stone color tiles.

“The Dean preferred not to have a white ceiling in his office to avoid having the space feel too institutional. He’s the Dean. As a geologist and leader of a department that include Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences, he cares about sustainability, recycled content and recyclability. He was very involved in choosing the finishes for his main office, including the ceiling panels,” explained Wright. “The Rockfon representative I worked with was super helpful. They sent me the samples I needed and provided lots of photographs of the non-white color options we were considering.”

She continued, “The Dean definitely drove the choice for the Stone color from Rockfon’s collection. The Stone color works really well. It blends nicely with natural stone surfaces, wood veneer and many display cases of geological artifacts in the Dean’s main office. It’s not too institutional and doesn’t detract from the overall design or the items on display.”

From the Dean’s main office, Rockfon Color-all Stone ceiling panels also are carried through the main corridor and into the common areas of the suite. “For the zones that have the Stone color panels, Stantec designed the ceilings in a staggered pattern, further distinguishing it from the white ceilings,” described Wright. The same staggered brickwork ceiling design is used in the corridors on the building’s three lower levels.

In the Dean’s suite, the conference room and offices are positioned on the Sciences Building’s exterior walls and window views. “Almost every office has a window and natural light,” noted Wright. “The ceilings reflect the light without contributing to glare on the display cases and monitors. The ceiling panels’ surface is so nice and smooth in both the Stone and the white.”

In addition to their attractive appearance and high light reflection, the Rockfon ceiling panels installed in the Dean’s suite offer a best-level Noise Reduction Coefficient of up to 0.95 NRC. Wright emphasized, “Sound absorption was very import to the Dean. He has a large department and there often are sensitive conversations. The space also is used to host a wide range of people.”

She elaborated, “The Dean’s suite in the old building had continuous ceilings, so anything was going to be an upgrade. The acoustics in the new Sciences Building were already good. Along with Rockfon’s acoustic ceiling tiles, we have full-height walls and we insulated the HVAC and the penetrations into the ceiling.” This thoughtful approach optimizes the acoustic experience, balancing a collegiate atmosphere for gatherings and group discussions with quiet areas for privacy and concentration.

Along with a comfortable acoustic interior, Wright highlighted that “the building’s air quality is very good. We take the air quality for granted. It was LEED Gold certified and we are careful about not using products with high-emitting VOCs. For new construction capital improvement projects, we review material documentation.”

Supporting indoor air quality, Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceiling panels are UL® GREENGUARD® Gold Certified as low-emitting products for both office and educational environments. Products that earn this certification are recognized by LEED and other programs as contributing to healthy interior spaces and to occupants’ wellbeing. The material properties of stone wool and metal also inherently resist the growth of mold, mildew and other microorganisms.

Further helping facility and design teams make informed decisions about their material selections, Rockfon offers Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), Health Product Declarations (HPDs), Declare Labels, and other performance and environmental data. Because stone wool is naturally hydrophobic, Rockfon ceiling panel sizes do not absorb moisture and do not sag even at 100 percent humidity. This consideration is often important when buildings are not climate-controlled. Approximately 60 percent of UTD’s campus HVAC is turned off every night.³

Contributing to their performance and sustainability, Rockfon acoustic ceiling panels are manufactured with abundant basalt stone and recycled content. Chicago Metallic metal suspension systems are manufactured with recycled content and are locally recyclable at the end of its long useful lifespan in the building.

Long lifespans, minimal repairs and low maintenance are key benefits to facilities’ bottom lines. Along with ensuring a lasting good impression and good acoustic experience, Wright shared that UTD’s maintenance team needs to be able to easily access the plenum to update HVAC, lighting, audio/visual and other systems in this high-tech, energy-efficient building.

The Dean’s suite features a mix of both square 2-by-2-foot and larger 2-by-4-foot Rockfon ceiling panels. “After the ceiling was installed, we had to replace half our lighting system because it had come in the wrong color temperature. It went really well removing the specific ceiling tiles and putting them back in place,” said Wright.

Energy-efficient equipment and lighting reduce energy use throughout the Sciences Building. When it opened in 2020, it was UTD’s eighth LEED-certified facility in a decade, and the fourth to earn Gold, bringing its LEED-certified square footage on campus to nearly 1.3 million. UTD also has achieved STARS Gold status as a participant in the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education’s (AASHE) Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS).⁴

Additional honors for the Sciences Building have included:

• American School & University Architectural Portfolio, 2021 Outstanding Designs: Post-Secondary
• Engineering News Record (ENR), 2021 Best of the Best: Best Higher Education/Research
• ENR Texas & Louisiana, 2021 Regional Best Project: Best Higher Education/Research
• ENR Texas & Louisiana, 2021 Regional Best Project: Excellence in Safety Award of Merit
• Learning By Design Awards, 2021 Architectural and Interior Design Awards of Excellence, Citation of Excellence⁵

As part of the UTD’s award-winning, LEED Gold-certified Sciences Building, the new Dean’s suite showcases modern aesthetics, sustainability and functionality. Rockfon acoustic stone wool ceiling systems support the project’s goals, helping create a warm, professional environment that fosters environmental stewardship, scientific research and academic progress.

^Sources

^{¹ UTD FED, “Sciences Building and Campus Landscape Enhancement Project – Phase III Dedication and Ribbon-Cutting,” March 13, 2024; https://fed.utdallas.edu/download/Sciences_Building_and_Campus_Landscape_Dedication.mp4}

^{² interview Nov. 19, 2024}

^{³ AASHE STARS 2.2, “The University of Texas at Dallas,” May 11, 2023; https://reports.aashe.org/institutions/university-of-texas-at-dallas-tx/report/2023-05-11}

^{⁴ UTDallas Magazine, Vol 11, Issue 1, Summer 2021; https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.utdallas.edu/dist/6/1127/files/2021/08/UTDMs21-MASTER.pdf | UTD FED, “Sciences Building and Campus Landscape Enhancement Project – Phase III Dedication and Ribbon-Cutting,” March 13, 2024; 
https://fed.utdallas.edu/download/Sciences_Building_and_Campus_Landscape_Dedication.mp4 | UTD FED, “Sustainability,” https://sustainability.utdallas.edu; accessed Nov. 21, 2024}

^{⁵ School Designs, “2021 American School & University Architectural Portfolio,” Sept. 2021 | https://schooldesigns.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021ArchitecturalPortfolio.pdf |
ENR, “Best of the Best,” March 17, 2022; https://www.enr.com/articles/53796-best-higher-education-research-university-of-texas-at-dallas-sciences-building | Learning by Design, “ Learning by Design Announces the Fall 2021 Architectural and Interior Design Awards of Excellence,” Oct. 15, 2021; https://www.learningbydesignmagazine.com/learning-design-announces-fall-2021-architectural-and-interior-design-awards-excellence}