Texas A&M University’s College of Dentistry's new Clinic & Education Building was designed to support their mission to provide patient care to under-represented populations and their strategic goal to increase student enrollment. Recently opened, the new nine-story, state-of-the-art, patient-centered facility is dedicated to clinical training for upper-level and graduate dental students.

The building was intentionally designed to accommodate college growth and foster a paradigm shift in dental education as the college seeks to maintain competitiveness in both education and research. The new building includes over 300 dental chair stations which integrate the latest technologies, specialized clinics, support areas, faculty areas, classrooms and study spaces. In order to provide a convenient patient experience, patient parking is available on the first three floors of the building.

Leadership leveraged the project to overhaul the college’s curriculum to foster a team-based approach that is patient-centered and reflects the more collaborative learning style of today’s students. This group practice model will expose students to numerous specialists and foster students’ engagement in their work, with each other, and with their patients, helping prepare them to work in whichever practice model they ultimately choose.

Kahler Slater led the programming, planning and design in partnership with Dallas firm BRW Architects, who served as Architect of Record.