O.A. Grant is a state-of-the-art Visual Arts Building with Multimedia Convergence Labs, Art Galleries, Visualization Labs, Classrooms, Multipurpose Labs, undergraduate design studios and Faculty Offices. As media becomes a larger presence in the classroom, it is important that the classrooms are incorporated with different media-related technologies. The multimedia equipped classrooms consist of smart boards and all of the latest state-of-the-art equipment to best support the students needs in this age of technology. Spread in different areas throughout the building are informal work areas where students can study before a test or start homework early, without having to access an empty classroom. The Classrooms are flexible and can double as seminar rooms equipped for multiple uses from engaging lectures to professional presentations. The new two-story, 26,000 SF addition was constructed on top of an existing one-story podium. Life safety upgrades, ADA improvements DDC controls and redundant HVAC for the campus data center were also part of the project scope.  

Tarleton State University’s primary goal for this Journalism and Mass Communication facility was that it become a benchmark for state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor collaborative education. At the core of RSA’s design were state-of-the-art Journalism and Mass Communication Facilities, including a Television Studio, Digital Motion Capture Lab, Film Sound Stage, Computer Areas and Recording/Mix Studios. The project also included 15 indoor and four outdoor collaborative learning spaces in addition to four 100-person lecture halls and three 25 person multi-purpose breakout technical teaching spaces. The third floor contains 40 faculty offices. The Television Studio is home to the Texan Television News program, a student-run news station that produces broadcasts from the (RSA designed) O.A. Grant Building. Students who work for this fast-paced, fully operational news station gain real-world experience in creating and delivering news to the Tarleton, Stephenville, and Cross Timbers communities. Furthermore, the School of Journalism produces both online and print newspapers using writing and photojournalism skills learned in the hands-on courses. Through these mediums, the Journalism and Broadcasting students update the local communities with current information and news.

The $1.3M in FF&E products selected by RSA for this project were specified as modular pieces with casters for maximum flexibility. The Television Studio and Film Sound Stage contain leading edge technology and Multimedia lab equipment. They are designed to be reconfigurable with minimal effort so that they can be quickly modified to accommodate the instructor’s specific needs. The building serves as part of the “Campus Edge” with the glass cylinder forming an iconic design element which is viewed by the majority of vehicular traffic passing through the City.