Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Chapman University Debuts New Hall of Engineering

  • By Matt Jones
  • 06/09/22

Chapman University in Orange, Calif., recently opened a new home for its engineering school. The Swenson Family Hall of Engineering was created through a 31,000-square-foot interior build-out of the university’s existing Keck Center for Science and Engineering. The new wing occupies three floors and features amenities like research and teaching labs, a makerspace and robotics lab, and more. Both the Swenson Family Hall of Engineering and the Keck Center were built by C.W. Driver Companies.

“We were honored to partner with Chapman University in constructing a both beautiful and highly functional hall for its newest academic program, the Fowler School of Engineering,” said Aimee Siemianowski, project executive with C.W. Driver Companies. “Our long history of constructing higher education and research facilities for Chapman University and colleges across the state enabled us to deliver a cutting-edge facility designed to foster collaboration, reconfiguration and blur the lines between teaching and education.”

Swenson Family Hall of Engineering
Photo credit: Lawrence Anderson

The new wing’s first level serves as a collaborative student space and features a large gallery that connects to the rest of the Keck Center. The second floor includes research pods, teaching labs and study alcoves, while the third features a faculty suite that includes workspaces, meeting space and collaboration zones. The facility is named after Jim Swenson and the Swenson Family Foundation, which previously contributed $5 million to Chapman University.

“The opening of the Keck Center’s science wing in 2018 signaled a tremendous step forward in the STEM fields at Chapman University,” said Collette Creppell, vice president of campus planning and design at Chapman University. “Thanks to the valuable expertise of C.W. Driver Companies in building the Swenson Family Hall of Engineering, our new Fowler School of Engineering has a place to call its own. The facility will be paramount to attracting high-quality faculty and talented students pursuing undergraduate and graduate-level study of engineering, which in turn will help meet the growing demands of the California economy.”

The university and C.W. Driver Companies also partnered with AC Martin Partners, Inc. for the facility’s design.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Campus Safety Requires Using Every Resource Available

    Across the U.S., school and campus leaders are facing a security landscape that has changed dramatically over the past decade. Incidents on school property have increased in recent years, with several consecutive years setting record totals. According to analysis of data by CNN, dozens of shootings now occur on school grounds annually across K-12 and higher education environments.

  • Higher Ed is Betting on New Buildings While Quietly Undermining Their Campuses — Here’s Why

    In this climate, the owner’s representative has changed from a delivery-focused advisor to a strategic campus partner. Institutions are increasingly relying on owner’s reps not just to manage, cope, schedule, and budget, but also help evaluate whether a project should proceed at all.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Announces Acquisition of JJCA

    Wold Architects & Engineers, based in Minneapolis, Minn., recently announced that it has acquired JJCA, an architecture firm based in Nashville, Tenn., according to a press release. JJCA specializes in healthcare and education design; the partnership allows both firms to expand their presence across the country while building on existing strengths.

  • Health & Science Building

    Health & Science Building

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The College of Western Idaho's Health & Science Building has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.