The university has unveiled plans for a new science and engineering building that will bring together students and faculty from various academic disciplines.
The building, which will begin being constructed early next year, will offer state-of-the-art lab facilities for students from both the College of Engineering and the College of Arts and Sciences, Michael Chajes, dean of the College of Engineering, said.
“There are a couple of needs the university was looking to address in this new building,” Chajes said. “The first was additional lab space, because there’s been more interest these days in science and engineering in general, but also more interest in students from various academic areas who are exploring the broader issues of energy and the environment.”
The 194,000-square-foot structure, located on the corner of Lovett and Academy streets, will house office and meeting spaces for the newly-created Delaware Environmental Institute and the University of Delaware Energy Institute, in addition to multidisciplinary lab spaces equipped with clean rooms, large microscopes and core experimental facilities, he said.
“We were really interested in getting people together in one building to address the larger national problems of energy and the environment,” Chajes said.
Construction is slated to take two-and-a-half years, he said, and the building should be available for use during the 2013 Fall Semester.
Chajes said the estimated cost of the building changes weekly, but it is projected at more than $100 million. The project will be funded in part by the university, he said, but a significant portion of the building’s budget will come from private and corporate donations.
“There’s been a lot of interest from alumni, individuals and corporations in creating a new, state-of-the-art facility like this one,” Chajes said.
The university worked closely with the Ayers/Saint/Gross architectural firm in Baltimore to create a layout that would blend both modern and traditional designs, he said.
“There are going to be a lot of interesting features in it,” Chajes said. “Parts of it are very modern, but then there are also elements that tie it back to Georgian architecture and the overall feel of the campus.”
Brian McDermott, a junior chemical engineering major, said he felt the university could benefit from bigger lab spaces, but was not sure the new building was worth its projected cost.
“A new building alone isn’t going to benefit the university and bring prestige,” McDermott said. “I think the quality of the faculty is probably the most important thing, not the number of students who can fit into lab spaces.”
Sophomore Myles Powell, a civil engineering major, said he was excited for the much needed update of new labs on campus.
“The labs we have now are kind of old,” Powell said. “I think it will attract a lot more people because obviously everyone likes new stuff. It makes people more excited to be engineering students.”
Follow us on Twitter
Subscribe to our feed
Contact us through email
Be the first to comment on this article!