Jonathan Allbritton, a building construction science major from Bogue Chitto, served as Construction Manager on a team of students that created a master plan this semester for a hypothetical cultural campus and the design of a freestanding museum for Mississippi State University.

Allbritton’s team is one of 13 working on the project this semester in the College of Architecture, Art and Design’s innovative Collaborative Studio, led by Associate Professor of Architecture and Studio Coordinator Alexis Gregory; Building Construction Science Instructor Briar Jones; Architecture Studio Assistant Ryan Ashford; and Graduate Assistant Jacob Lindley.

The studio is funded by the PCI Foundation, and its projects are focused on the use of precast concrete for structure and cladding for museum designs.

“This is the fourth year the Collaborative Studio has been supported by the PCI Foundation, and each year both the students and faculty learn more about precast concrete and the importance of collaboration between architects, contractors and other industry professionals for a successful project,” Gregory said. “The students truly receive a valuable experience as they see the impact of design on the creation of precast concrete and how those design decisions affect the construction process to successfully achieve a design idea.”

Each team was comprised of one or two building construction science students serving as construction managers and architecture majors serving as project managers, architects and project designers.

The hypothetical cultural campus would be located adjacent to The Mill Conference Center, and the museum would hold the university’s collections currently housed at the Cobb Institute Museum, Dunn-Seiler Museum and Department of Art galleries. The campus also would host the new Ulysses S. Grant Presidential Library.

Students presented their work before professors and hypothetical clients.