Missouri University Selects Builder for Protoplex Building

Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Mo., recently announced that it has selected the construction manager at risk for its upcoming Protoplex building. PARIC Corp. will spearhead the new facility that will become the anchor of the university’s Manufacturing Technology and Innovation Campus. The Protoplex building comes with an estimated price tag of $53.4 million and will cover 116,000 square feet, according to local news.

A news release reports that the facility will connect federal, state, and industry agencies alongside colleges and universities throughout the state. “The Missouri Protoplex will be the headquarters for a state-wide ecosystem where experts, innovators, small and large businesses, entrepreneurs, educators, and policy-makers develop and adopt the technologies needed to create and sustain manufacturing jobs throughout the state,” according to the press release.

The space is set to include labs and shop spaces, high-bay and double-height labs, meeting and collaboration spaces, storage, administrative space, display spaces, and a lobby area. The university is also partnering with Mackey Mitchell Architects, Perkins&Will Architects, and McClure Engineering. Construction is scheduled to start during summer 2023.

According to the university website, the facility is designed around the manufacturing industry’s four fundamental disciplines: materials, manufacturing & methods; pre-production testing & development; the forge-steel and advanced metallurgy; and cyber-physical systems security, testing & development. The Protoplex building will offer space and equipment across its offices, labs, and research and production facilities for each facet.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Planning with Clarity: Using AI to Make Better Campus Decisions, Not Just Better Designs

    Higher education leaders are being asked to make increasingly high-stakes decisions about campus facilities amid greater uncertainty than ever before. Social and economic pressures, shifting enrollment, and evolving learning models compete with growing deferred maintenance needs to strain even the most robust infrastructure budgets.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Dallas-Area District Debuts Three New Facilities

    The Duncanville Independent School District in southwest Dallas, Texas, recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for three new facilities that resulted from a $170-million bond program passed in 2023, according to a news release.

  • Secret to Efficient, On-Time School Infrastructure & Modernization Projects is All in the Preparation

    Warmer weather and longer days make summer the ideal time for construction and modernization projects at educational facilities. School boards and construction firms must coordinate effectively to ensure that these projects do not extend even a single day into the school year and impede classroom operation.