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A new lab at Portland State University will help undergraduates perform architectural research and learn to apply the scientific method as they create designs 鈥� something that hasn’t been taught much in the past.

The Building Science Lab to Advance Teaching was created via a $300,000 grant from the W.M. Keck Foundation, said associate professor Corey Griffin, who runs the lab for the School of Architecture.

鈥淭he mission of the lab is to increase hands-on research experiences (at) the undergraduate level on the topic of green building,鈥� he said.

The W.M. Keck Foundation funds research labs all over the West, Griffin said, but its grants usually go to smaller schools without a graduate program in architecture.

Griffin said PSU made the case that a research lab was needed because students, particularly undergraduates, don’t have an opportunity to perform research without paying for an independent study class. That is because students pay per unit for classes.

Griffin said he has had to turn students away from independent research for that reason, but after the new lab’s public grand opening next Thursday at 5 p.m., independent research will be possible to students without additional cost.

鈥淚n the lab they can take research experiences and put in coursework both here in the School of Architecture and 鈥� other departments that have an interest in building,鈥� Griffin said. 鈥淭hat could be mechanical engineering or civil engineering or environmental science, to really broaden the reach and interdisciplinary nature of the work that we do.鈥�

The lab, located in room 201 in Shattuck Hall, also has four 鈥渧ery fast, research-grade鈥� Mac Pro computers that can operate both Mac and PC software, Griffin said. 鈥淲e also have some (money) in the budget so if a faculty member has some software they want us to buy and install, we can do that.鈥�

Among the tools in the lab are small, handheld devices, made by Vernier Software & Technology in Beaverton, that can collect detailed data about buildings and the environment, Griffin said. They also can measure ultraviolet and infrared light.

鈥淭hese tools can log things such as humidity, temperature of both air and surfaces, noise levels and light levels,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd students can come in as part of a class and check out one of these tools and take it out into the world and actually measure something.鈥�

The lab also has a handheld Arduino rapid prototyping system that can be calibrated for almost any kind of measurement. These tools are already being put to use, Griffin said.

鈥淚t’s definitely part of the architectural process, identifying what users and clients need and part of trying to design a building that’s sustainable, like (measuring) the space at the top of windows,鈥� he said.

More importantly, Griffin noted, students will learn to think scientifically.

鈥淭here are very few opportunities for students to learn the scientific method, but it is increasingly important when we research how much energy buildings use and learn that rule of thumb will get us so far,鈥� he said.

Griffin said the goal is to use the lab to teach students who otherwise wouldn’t get any instruction on how to conduct research to learn how to create a hypothesis and how to devise a method for testing it, he said.

鈥淭esting to see if (buildings) are actually behaving the way we think they are will be incredibly important to the next generation of architects,鈥� he said.

It’s already important to students Kalina Vander Poel and Kendra Malkemus; both helped design the lab.

鈥淏oth Kendra and I will graduate in the spring, and we took (design of the lab) from idea to reality,鈥� Vander Poel said. It was 鈥減robably the best job I’ve ever had in my life because the mission of the lab carried through to a design and creative space students can really use. It complements current education and (fosters) thinking about things differently.鈥�

Malkemus said the most exciting aspect of the new lab is the way it can enhance students’ designs. She said there are certain things learned in class, like a formula to decide how many windows to put on the wall of a building; however, formulas are hard to remember, and scientific evidence like infrared photos can make a huge difference.

鈥淚f you go out and take an infrared photograph of a building that’s just leaking heat out into the air, and you see that bright red, I think it will stick with a student a lot longer,鈥� she said. 鈥淗aving that first-hand research experience is powerful.鈥�

Matt Sedor, who received a master’s in architecture from PSU last year, was a member of the pilot class to set up the 鈥済reen building research lab.鈥� He and others in the class worked with architecture firms on real projects.

During the pilot class, Sedor worked with SRG Partnership and conducted research on daytime lighting that affected the firm’s design of a building’s skylight. He wrote a paper on his research and was invited to present it at a conference in Portugal. And he got a job offer from SRG before he returned home.

鈥淎s I was on the trip I started getting emails from SRG Partnership asking me if I’d found a job yet,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o via that class I got a job and actually have two PSU students working on a project I’m working on. So it’s an awesome full circle. Now I’m mentoring the students and I stay involved with the lab.鈥�

Griffin added that planning is under way for a new PSU fabricating lab that will have all-digital fabrication tools, including 3-D printers. He is hoping it becomes a reality next year 鈥� after space is found on campus.

鈥淪pace is such a premium, and you’re taking a classroom off-line, so you have to have a good reason,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think the university thinks this (lab) is a good reason. 鈥� We have a plan; we just need the room.鈥�