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
Cultural Facilities | Feb 25, 2015
Edmonton considering 'freezeway' to embrace winter
If the new Edmonton Freezeway is constructed, residents will have an 11-km course that winds through the city and allows them to skate to work, school, and other city activities.
Mixed-Use | Feb 11, 2015
Developer plans to turn Eero Saarinen's Bell Labs HQ into New Urbanist town center
Designed by Eero Saarinen in the late 1950s, the two-million-sf, steel-and-glass building was one of the best-funded and successful corporate research laboratories in the world.
| Jan 15, 2015
Libeskind unveils 'zig zag' plan for recreational center near Vilnius ski area
Perched on the highest peak between Vilnius' historic quarter and downtown, the Vilnius Beacon will be a hub for visiting skiers and outdoor enthusiasts.
| Jan 7, 2015
4 audacious projects that could transform Houston
Converting the Astrodome to an urban farm and public park is one of the proposals on the table in Houston, according to news site Houston CultureMap.
| Aug 6, 2014
BIG reinvents the zoo with its 'Zootopia' natural habitat concept [slideshow]
Bjarke Ingels’ firm is looking to improve the 1960s-designed Givskund Zoo in Denmark by giving the animals a freer range to roam.
| Jul 30, 2014
German students design rooftop solar panels that double as housing
Students at the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences designed a solar panel that can double as living space for the Solar Decathlon Europe.
| Jul 24, 2014
MIT researchers explore how to make wood composite-like blocks of bamboo
The concept behind the research is to slice the stalk of bamboo grass into smaller pieces to bond together and form sturdy blocks, much like conventional wood composites.
| Jul 14, 2014
Meet the bamboo-tent hotel that can grow
Beijing-based design cooperative Penda designed a bamboo hotel that can easily expand vertically or horizontally.
| Jul 14, 2014
Foster + Partners unveils triple-glazed tower for RMK headquarters
The London-based firm unveiled plans for the Russian Copper Company's headquarters in Yekaterinburg.
| Jul 11, 2014
First look: Jeanne Gang reinterprets San Francisco Bay windows in new skyscraper scheme
Chicago architect Jeanne Gang has designed a 40-story residential building in San Francisco that is inspired by the city's omnipresent bay windows.