The University of Washington Tacoma has had an 18-year relationship with Extron, trusting the company for standardization of AV switching, distribution, and control in more than 115 learning spaces. When it was time to equip the university's newest building, Extron AV was the easy choice for Milgard Hall.
When the permanent Tacoma campus opened in 1997, Joe Brawley, who was UW Branch Campus Projects director at the time said, “What we have done is taken 19th century warehouses and turned them into 21st century academic space.” Six historic, semi-abandoned brick structures packed with rusty parts for WW II Jeeps and home to hundreds of pigeons were gutted, seismically upgraded, and wired for 21st century technology. Now, the three story, 55,000-square-foot Milgard Hall is the first new-construction building on a 46-acre campus.
“Milgard Hall landed on our drawing board at just the right time. We took everything we’d learned while upgrading the AV systems in the historic buildings on the Tacoma campus and applied that experience to this brand-new teaching facility," said Paul Lovelady, manager, media services at UW Tacoma. "Modern Extron AV systems deliver the collaborative capabilities that were one of the key design goals for this unique and beautiful structure. We're pretty excited about the way it turned out."
Milgard Hall features a variety of educational spaces, including large and small classrooms, laboratories, breakout rooms, and a 120-seat High Impact Practices (HIPS) seminar venue.
The mix of Extron AV technology in Milgard Hall runs the gamut of switching, transmission, audio, and control, from XTP II and DTP CrossPoint matrix switchers, to IN1808 Series presentation switchers, SMP 352 streaming media processors, to ProDSP audio DSP processors and SoundField speakers. IP Link Pro xi control processors and TouchLink Pro touchpanels provide intuitive AV system control in every AV-enabled room. TLS TouchLink scheduling panels help with room scheduling and occupancy monitoring.
[A New Chapter for 'Page Six']
“Milgard Hall represents a space that welcomes students and community members alike and where business and industry can deepen partnerships,” said UW Tacoma chancellor Sheila Edwards Lange. “In Milgard Hall, our students build better lives for themselves and their communities.” In no small measure, audiovisual teaching and collaboration aids anchored by Extron AV products in every corner of the building allows UW to meet the educational goals envisioned for Milgard Hall.
