Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Clark University Breaks Ground on Multidisciplinary Academic Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/26/22

Clark University in Worcester, Mass., recently broke ground on a new academic building that will allow for collaboration across disciplines, according to a press release. The new Center for Media Arts, Computing and Design will house the university’s Becker School of Design & Technology, the Department of Computer Science and programs from the Department of Visual and Performing Arts.

The 70,000-square-foot building will stand four stories and is scheduled to open in fall 2023. It will include amenities like a multi-floored tiered classroom, a robotics lab, a multimedia gallery, a data science lab, classrooms and collaboration spaces, and a video game library to research interactive media, according to the news release. Its layout will create a new academic quadrangle on the campus, and floor-to-ceiling windows will overlook the new greenery and allow natural light into the space.

“When we think about our facilities, and especially our new buildings, we don’t just think about containers of activity but rather purpose-built spaces that encourage collaboration, convening, cooperation and even collisions—that is, chance encounters of people from different disciplines, departments and different ways of thinking,” said Clark University President David B. Fithian at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The building soon to come out of the ground behind me will have many of just those types of spaces. It will bring together different departments and programs with evident synergies but also the potential for new creative instigations and alchemy.”

The news release notes that the university will pursue a LEED Gold certification for the building’s construction and operation. Its primary source of heating and cooling will be geothermal energy.

“[T]o truly practice and embody interdisciplinarity, we have to not only evolve our curriculum but also reconfigure the spaces within which we do that work,” said Betsy Huang, associate provost and dean of the college. “The ideals of interdisciplinarity and the core values of our liberal education are baked into this building and this center’s structural DNA. We all know the sparks that happen when we put people of great creativity, intellect and decency in the same space, working side by side, learning from each other, building trust and community, breathing the same air and feeling the life of the different and the new.”

Clark University is partnering with Ayers Saint Gross for the building’s design and Shawmut Design and Construction for construction.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • Kimball International Releases Curated Design Support Program

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced the launch of a new end-to-end design support program, DesignSuite. According to a news release, its goal is to guide architecture & design professionals and dealer partners through the process from vision to specification.

  • UNT Dallas Holds Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony for $100M STEM Building

    The University of North Texas at Dallas in Dallas, Texas, recently celebrated the opening of its new, $100-million STEM Building, according to local news. The ceremony on Dec. 2 preceded the first day of classes in the facility on Jan. 12, 2026.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.