Dynamic Systems donates lab for viewing building’s infrastructure

When Texas A&M students begin taking classes in the renovated Francis Hall, the new campus home for the Department of Construction Science, they’ll be able to see exposed mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems at work in a $100,000 specialty lab funded by Dynamic Systems, Inc., an Austin-based mechanical and process construction firm.

Dynamic Systems’ contribution is part of the building’s $9 million renovation.

Randy J. Rehmann ’78, chairman and CEO of Dynamic Systems and an outstanding alumnus of the College of Architecture, recently signed a gift agreement adding the lab to the firm’s list of financial and personal contributions to construction education programs at Texas A&M.

The facility, scheduled to be ready for students in spring 2015, will be uniquely constructed to showcase the building’s inner workings, such as piping, controls and fittings, and how they function and interact.

“Unlike most buildings, where these systems are installed out-of-sight and in inaccessible spaces, our students will be able to see the equipment and better understand how the various systems operate,” said Joe Horlen, head of the Department of Construction Science.

The exposed electrical and mechanical systems will provide students with a unique learning environment that can otherwise only be viewed in buildings under construction or by removing wall and ceiling finishes.

“The idea to use exposed Francis Hall building systems as a teaching aid is a design feature conceived by the department’s Construction Industry Advisory Council partners,” said Horlen.

In addition to the lab, he said, the renovation will include exposed building system views throughout the building, a feature strongly supported by student focus groups.

Dynamic System’s lab gift combines with an endowed scholarship as part of the company’s continuing support and involvement in construction science education at Texas A&M, said Rehmann, who served as CIAC’s founding president in 2000.

“Most of our firm’s leadership earned their degrees at Texas A&M,” he said. “We are excited to participate in the Francis Hall renovation project and honored to contribute to Texas A&M construction science programs that continue to play an important role in Dynamic Systems’ success. We see this as an investment in the future leaders of the construction industry.”

Dynamic Systems, with offices in Austin, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix and the East Coast, is a world leader in the fabrication and installation of sophisticated process and high-purity piping systems, process exhaust, HVAC piping/sheet metal and sanitary plumbing, providing services for a national market that includes commercial/specialty, healthcare, hospitality, laboratory, life sciences, microelectronics, mission critical and solar.