Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Rochester

Ronald Rettner Hall for Media Arts and Innovation

  • 02/01/14
University of Rochester 

PHOTOS © ADAM FENSTER / UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER

The University of Rochester in New York has built an 18,900-square-foot, three-story facility designed as a hub for the arts, sciences and engineering. Opened in the fall of 2013 on the institution’s River Campus, the building houses two of the university’s newest majors: digital media studies, and audio and music engineering.

Ronald Rettner Hall, built for $12.8 million, provides a place for students to gain both practical skills and theoretical understanding of digital technology. It features an engineering fabrication lab where students can build prototypes, a multipurpose learning studio, group study areas and an exhibit space for displaying projects. The facility contains sound and video recording studios, high-end computers and 3-D printers — the latest manufacturing technique to convert digital design into actual models.

Rettner Hall’s open design features space on each floor overlooking the level below, and its popular “Tree House” is a casual lounge where students can brainstorm, relax and recharge. With flexible spaces designed for interaction, it is open 24 hours a day.

“Our students’ capacity to think critically and flexibly is the key to their future success,” says Peter Lennie, Rochester’s provost. “Rettner Hall provides them with a place to harness their talents broadly and discover news ways to connect the creative arts to the sciences and engineering.”

“In this space, there are unlimited possibilities,” adds Rob Clark, senior vice president for research and dean of the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. “Now students from diverse backgrounds will have a place to use their talents broadly and discover new ways to connect the arts and humanities to sciences and engineering. The unique environment will foster learning, creativity and collaboration.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • TCU Marks Campus Expansion Milestone

    Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a topping-out ceremony to mark progress on a major campus expansion effort including four new residential facilities and a five-story parking garage, according to a news release.

  • Texas A&M Opens First Building at Fort Worth Campus, Breaks Ground on Research Facility

    The Texas A&M University System marked a major milestone in the development of its Fort Worth campus by opening its first completed academic building and breaking ground on a second facility designed to expand research and industry collaboration.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.