The new Student Club Innovation Center for the assembly and fabrication of student projects will provide a structure to both house and display the creative activities of the extracurricular organizations of the College of Engineering.
Initial concepts placed the Student Innovation Center “back of house” without a public presence. After asking many questions of the faculty, dean and student leaders in the spring of 2011, a more visible and public scheme was decided on that defined the Student Innovation Center as a valuable recruiting tool for the College to celebrate and acknowledge the interesting student work created at the College. The more public location of the Center also taps directly into existing infrastructure; stairs, circulation and restrooms of the existing building, while locating the Student Club Innovation Center in close proximity to the student classrooms of the current facility.
The new Student Club Innovation Center contrasts with the introspective feel of the existing Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering facility yet incorporates the vertical and horizontal rhythm and planning strategies of the existing structure to successfully integrate the new structure with the existing building. Sustainable components populate the structure and façade including a photo-voltaic rain screen wall and roof shade structure to visibly acknowledge and place the new building in context within its engineering environs.
