Cal Poly San Luis Obispo’s newest addition to its campus, The William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation, is currently under construction.
The four-story, 103,800-sf Center is dedicated to undergraduate students who engage in faculty-mentored research each year and work side-by-side with professors. The Frost Center will bring three colleges together under one roof: the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science and Mathematics, and the College of Agriculture, Food, and Environmental Sciences. It is designed to support the educational priorities of a growing student and faculty population, promote interdisciplinary communities, and provide academic space.
Included within the building are 19 flexible laboratory and teaching spaces, large general-purpose classrooms, collaboration areas, faculty/staff offices, a recording studio, editing bays, a high-end computer lab, and a teaching kitchen. The teaching kitchen is showcased on the first floor and is highly visible from the atrium.
The modularly planned laboratories provide flexibility for any future changes and can be combined to produce large, open laboratories or subdivided to produce small instrument or special-use laboratories. A “big room” for the College of Liberal Arts will give students a space where they can create, perform, test, record, and display their work for passersby along the adjacent hallways and exterior pathways.
Passive design strategies and natural ventilation will create a healthy building for occupants. 100% outside air from air handling units and operable windows in offices allow the building to avoid the recirculation of air that might provide an avenue for airborne exposure to viruses such as COVID-19.
The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold and includes sustainable features such as passive heating and cooling strategies, will consume 30% less potable water, and will have the capacity to accommodate future rooftop solar panels.
See Also: Apartments and condos occupy what was once a five-story car dealership
The William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation is slated for completion in late 2021.
Related Stories
Adaptive Reuse | Jan 12, 2023
Invest in existing buildings for your university
According to Nick Sillies of GBBN, students are increasingly asking: "How sustainable is your institution?" Reusing existing buildings may help answer that.
University Buildings | Dec 22, 2022
Loyola Marymount University completes a new home for its acclaimed School of Film and Television
California’s Loyola Marymount University (LMU) has completed two new buildings for arts and media education at its Westchester campus. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), the Howard B. Fitzpatrick Pavilion is the new home of the undergraduate School of Film and Television, which is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 10 film schools. Also designed by SOM, the open-air Drollinger Family Stage is an outdoor lecture and performance space.
Adaptive Reuse | Dec 21, 2022
University of Pittsburgh reinvents century-old Model-T building as a life sciences research facility
After opening earlier this year, The Assembly recently achieved LEED Gold certification, aligning with the school’s and community’s larger sustainability efforts.
Sponsored | Resiliency | Dec 14, 2022
Flood protection: What building owners need to know to protect their properties
This course from Walter P Moore examines numerous flood protection approaches and building owner needs before delving into the flood protection process. Determining the flood resilience of a property can provide a good understanding of risk associated costs.
Adaptive Reuse | Dec 9, 2022
What's old is new: Why you should consider adaptive reuse
While new construction allows for incredible levels of customization, there’s no denying that new buildings can have adverse impacts on the climate, budgets, schedules and even the cultural and historic fabrics of communities.
Student Housing | Dec 7, 2022
9 exemplary student housing projects in 2022
Production continued apace this year and last, as colleges and universities, for-profit developers, and their AEC teams scrambled to get college residences open before the start of classes.
Student Housing | Dec 7, 2022
Cornell University builds massive student housing complex to accommodate planned enrollment growth
In Ithaca, N.Y., Cornell University has completed its North Campus Residential Expansion (NCRE) project. Designed by ikon.5 architects, the 776,000-sf project provides 1,200 beds for first-year students and 800 beds for sophomore students. The NCRE project aimed to accommodate the university’s planned growth in student enrollment while meeting its green infrastructure standards. Cornell University plans to achieve carbon neutrality by 2035.
University Buildings | Dec 5, 2022
Florida Polytechnic University unveils its Applied Research Center, furthering its mission to provide STEM education
In Lakeland, Fla., located between Orlando and Tampa, Florida Polytechnic University unveiled its new Applied Research Center (ARC). Designed by HOK and built by Skanska, the 90,000-sf academic building houses research and teaching laboratories, student design spaces, conference rooms, and faculty offices—furthering the school’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) mission.
Education Facilities | Nov 30, 2022
10 ways to achieve therapeutic learning environments
Today’s school should be much more than a place to learn—it should be a nurturing setting that celebrates achievements and responds to the challenges of many different users.
University Buildings | Nov 13, 2022
University of Washington opens mass timber business school building
Founders Hall at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, the first mass timber building at Seattle campus of Univ. of Washington, was recently completed. The 84,800-sf building creates a new hub for community, entrepreneurship, and innovation, according the project’s design architect LMN Architects.
