New Britain, CT – Amenta Emma Architects announced it recently completed the 93,000sf Applied Innovation Hub at Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) in New Britain.
The facility, which opened to students for the spring 2022 semester, serves as the primary new home for engineering department spaces in CCSU’s School of Engineering, Science and Technology, as well as computer and general-purpose classroom spaces available to the overall university. Lab, classroom, student project, and faculty spaces support both undergraduate and graduate programs in mechanical, electrical, computer, and civil engineering.
The Applied Innovation Hub includes a transparent ground floor lobby and multi-purpose lounge space overlooking a hive of activity immediately outside its walls, in combination with open student spaces throughout, designed to promote the significance of the building as a place of innovation, interdisciplinary education, and university-wide congregation. Designers were challenged to accommodate the functional program, harness the best value for the $44.8 million construction budget, embrace flexibility with both technology infrastructure and space, and achieve energy performance and sustainability goals.
Featured elements include a robotics lab for CCSU’s robotics program and a 30 foot high material testing structures lab. Multiple dedicated student project rooms and open collaborative areas are located on each level to promote project-based learning. A 180-seat lecture hall off the main entry common space provides space for scheduled classes and special programmed events. A student services advising and career space, also directly off the main lobby, is designed to foster ease of access to CCSU’s diverse student body.
The project team also included Davis Brody Bond, BVH Integrated Services, vanZelm Engineers, Jaffe Holden Acoustics, Langan Engineering, and Ritz Henton Design Group.
