In February, North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University (NC A&T) opened its new Engineering Research & Innovation Complex (ERIC). After over three years of construction, the $90 million project will serve as a driver of research, innovation, and economic impact. A public, historically Black land-grant research university in Greensboro, N.C., NC A&T is the nation’s top producer of undergraduate-level engineering degrees for African Americans.
EYP—a design firm specializing in higher education, government, healthcare, and science and technology—steered the design of the open, airy, glass-paneled facility. The four-story, 130,000-square-foot space boasts state-of-the art features that provide the technology and amenities to help transfer knowledge from academia to industry and government. In addition to classrooms, conference rooms, and offices, ERIC includes wet and dry labs; biomechanical, cybersecurity, and systems engineering labs; and maker and fabrication spaces. ERIC also has modern learning spaces both indoors and outdoors.
ERIC will accommodate a growing number of students at NC A&T’s College of Engineering. Fostering creative collaboration across disciplines and within the community, ERIC will serve as an interdisciplinary and multifunctional center for academics, research, and community engagement that will help form a pipeline of STEM leaders. The complex also will help create new job opportunities while serving as a catalyst for short- and long-term economic growth and development throughout North Carolina.
“ERIC is a hot space for innovation where faculty, staff, and students form industry partnerships and apply speed-to-market principles with new projects, prototypes, and job opportunities that impact the community,” Dan Fields, EYP’s project executive principal, says in a statement.
Owner: North Carolina A&T State University
Design architect and architect of record: EYP
MEP engineer: RMF Engineering
Structural engineer: SKA
General contractor/construction manager: Balfour Beatty
Related Stories
| Feb 22, 2013
Starbucks pilot program rolls out small, modular stores
Coffee giant Starbucks is rolling out mini-stores with maximum local flavor, as part of an international pilot program.
| Oct 23, 2012
Transwestern to develop industrial complex in Houston’s Energy Corridor
Transwestern, a commercial real estate firm, has acquired 30 acres in Houston’s Energy Corridor for a 384,900-sf industrial project, the company announced.
| Jul 25, 2012
Contract awarded for Gaillard Municipal Auditorium renovations in Charleston, S.C.
Seeking LEED Silver certification, the project will begin in August and is slated for completion in December 2014.
| Jul 24, 2012
Dragon Valley Retail at epicenter of Yongsan International Business District
Masterplanned by architect Daniel Libeskind, the Yongsan IBD encompasses ten city blocks and includes a collection of high-rise residences and commercial buildings.
| Jul 24, 2012
$20 Million expansion at New Orleans casino announced
150-room hotel project to include suites, fitness center, and meeting space.
| Jul 23, 2012
Missner Group completes construction of Chicago auto dealership
The Missner Group also incorporated numerous sustainable improvements to the property including the implementation of a vegetative roof, and the utilization of permeable pavers for the parking lot.
| Jul 19, 2012
Glass ‘biodome’ helps Parkview Green FangCaoDi project in Beijing achieve LEED Platinum
A glass envelope acting as a kind of biodome encapsulates four mixed-use towers at Parkview Green FangCaoDi, an 800,000 sf mixed-use development in Beijing. The glass structure helped the development to achieve LEED Platinum certification.
| Jul 19, 2012
NYC eases building code to create ‘micro apartments’ in Kips Bay
New York City has implemented a program to encourage construction of "micro-apartments" in the Big Apple, where rents are exorbitant and the number of singles is on the rise.
| Jul 19, 2012
Construction begins on military centers to treat TBI and PTS
First two of several centers to be built in Fort Belvoir, Va. and Camp Lejeune, N.C.
