Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Wentworth Institute of Technology: Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences

  • 09/01/19
Wentworth Institute of Technology 

PHOTOS © ALBERT VECERKA / ESTO

The advancement of technologies for fabrication and the increased interest of educators of hands-on learning environments has prompted a proliferation of makerspaces in college and universities nationwide. The new 75,000-square-foot Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences at Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates, comprises a dynamic, multidisciplinary environment for such collaboration among students of biology, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and two of the Institute’s newest programs, biomedical and biological engineering.

Open to the quad on one side, a city street on another, and the campus circulation spine on a third, the building’s fully glazed first floor was designed to advertise the activity inside and entice students to participate in the creativity they see from outside. The public lobby is a gathering venue that can be transformed from a collection of informal furniture to a lecture space and a building-long display that exhibits student work. Vertical bifold glass doors on the quad allow public visibility as well as an easy flow from inside to outside to allow work to be moved into and out of the building. The Center’s academic makerspace is on the other side of the lobby, facing the city street.

The goal for the interior of these spaces was to be as flexible as possible in order to adapt to student needs. Tables can be flipped and nested, chairs can be stacked, whiteboards can be brought in and out, and modular, stackable wooden boxes can become stools, benches, and sitting steps. Proximity to tools for fabrication was also a design priority, and they are easily accessible in an adjacent room. Two dedicated project rooms also line one wall, and even these can be opened up to become a larger project space in this new breakthrough facility.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management September 2019 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • UT System Approves First Funds for New Campus

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved funds to build the first facility of a new campus in far west Fort Worth, Texas, according to university news. UTA West will serve as a branch of the University of Texas at Arlington and is scheduled to open in fall 2028.

  • El Paso District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    The Canutillo Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, recently announced that construction has begun on a 119,000-square-foot elementary school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Pfluger Architects, Carl Daniel Architects, and LDCM Solutions on the new Davenport Elementary School, which has an expected completion date of 2027.

  • South Carolina District Starts Construction on $50M Middle School Renovation

    The Aiken County Public School District in North Augusta, S.C., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the $50-million renovation and expansion of North Augusta Middle School, according to a news release. The project’s funding comes from the 2024 renewal of a one-cent sales tax approved by local voters.

  • T&T Construction Management Group Completes Pasco High School Expansion

    Pasco High School in Dade City, Fla., recently announced that it has completed an expansion project in partnership with T&T Construction Management Group, Inc., Harvard Jolly Architecture, and Williams Company.