CALUMET - The T on Michigan Technological University's Keweenaw Research Center's buildings T1-T5 stands for temporary.

Yet, 60 years after they were built by the U.S. Army, they are still in use.

Although the structures will remain, KRC director Jay Meldrum said a new $2 million design center to be constructed and occupied by this time next year, will better serve the needs of the KRC, which tests vehicles in winter and off-road conditions. The building will be mainly office space and include a new conference room and reception area. Currently, conditions during the winter testing season are cramped, with the KRC often renting out its own offices to clients, he said.

"We've put up several pole buildings but this is the first time we've actually improved the offices we use," he said. "We're at about $4 million a year in research expenditures and growing, so this will definitely give us more capabilities, more resources, space."

The center also hopes to hire five to seven more people over the next few years as a result, Meldrum said. Phase two of the project will build a bay for large vehicles onto the new building. The date for the second phase is undetermined.

The KRC's 500-acre test course challenges vehicles from the Army, car companies and suppliers, and construction equipment companies. The largest customer is the U.S. Army.

"You have to be able to get from point A to point B and that's what people come to us for," Meldrum said.

The new building will take advantage of the site's natural and man-made features to make it more energy efficient. The south-facing wall will have several windows to let in natural light, while water from an old mine will supply the building's heat pumps. Meldrum said the original plan was to drill a well, but they first thought to look at the old mine.

"We opened it up and found water 10 feet below the surface," he said. "Lots of water."

The new building's north exterior wall will be symbolic of the work done at the KRC, with the brick texture going from rough down to smooth from one end to the other.

"We kind of take things from a rough design standpoint and then we complete it," Meldrum explained.

Meldrum said he hopes to complete the inside of the building by getting individuals and corporations to sponsor items like furniture for rooms and computers for a student design center.

"The $2 million will really just pay for the shell of the building," he said. "We've got a few companies that have shown interest in helping us."

Layla Aslani can be reached at laslani@mininggazette.com.