Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Kansas State University: Foundation Business & Research Park

  • 10/01/18
Kansas State University

PHOTOS COURTESY OF HOEFER WYSOCKI

The Kansas State University (K-State) Foundation is responsible for donor-centered acquisition and stewardship of private gifts in support of the university and its philanthropic and academic endeavors. The new Foundation headquarters at K-State, clad in the campus vernacular of limestone and glass, provides an engaging and welcoming experience for the K-State community. The university’s hallmark purple is used to illuminate the exterior balcony, enhancing the Foundation’s visibility and promoting team spirit. In addition to K-State Foundation staff, the new business park will be home to entrepreneurs, startups, and established companies who will work alongside K-State faculty and students.

While the first phase of the 240,000-square-foot, four-phase project focused mainly on creating new headquarters for the Foundation, the vision of the overall project is to establish a business-park-like setting to bridge K-State’s academic programs with the university’s business partners. The Business & Research Park creates an opportunity for employers to guide the university’s academic focus to prepare the next-generation workforce.

K-State was selected as the site of a new 500,000-square-foot, $1.25 billion National Bio and Agro-defense Facility (NBAF). The NBAF is currently under construction on a site adjacent to the K-State Foundation Business & Research Park. This strategic location plays a crucial role in connecting the university’s veterinary, agricultural, and biosecurity research and expertise with the NBAF and related industries.

Additionally, the Business & Research Park is a keystone of K-State’s North Corridor Master Plan, which envisions positioning Manhattan, KS, as the national center of excellence for the bio and agro-defense industry.

Hoefer Wysocki has completed the phase 1 and 2 of the design; phase 3 and 4 are in progress. When completed, the project will mark a major milestone of the Foundation’s grand vision to create an innovation and research park that connects the academic campus to the regional and national business community and its next-generation workforce.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management October 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Beyond Four Walls

    Operable glass walls provide a dynamic solution for educational spaces. They align with today’s evolving teaching methods and adapt to the needs of modern learners. Beyond the functional versatility, movable glass walls offer clean, contemporary aesthetics, slim and unobtrusive profiles, and versatile configurations that cater to the evolving needs of students and educators alike.

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part II

    As education leaders look toward 2026, the design of K–12 and higher education facilities is being reshaped by powerful, converging forces. Survey respondents point to the rapid growth of Career and Technical Education, deeper alignment with workforce and industry needs, and the accelerating influence of AI and emerging technologies.

  • University of Rhode Island, Gilbane Partner for Three New Residence Halls

    The University of Rhode Island in Kingston, R.I., recently announced a public-private partnership with construction development firm Gilbane, according to a news release. Gilbane will soon start construction on three new residence halls with a total of 1,100 beds: two with apartment-style suites in northwest campus, and a reconstruction of the Graduate Village Apartments for graduate students.

Digital Edition