Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Missouri University Selects Builder for Protoplex Building

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/05/23

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

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Surging Demand for Student Housing Fuels Major Campus Investment Opportunities

    University leaders throughout the U.S. are accelerating plans to modernize and expand student housing as enrollment stabilizes and demand for on-campus living rebounds. Recent data from the National Center for Education Statistics indicates that total postsecondary enrollment is projected to grow through the end of the decade, with undergraduate enrollment alone expected to increase by more than 8 percent by 2030.

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.

  • Universities Continue to Launch Multimillion-Dollar Campus Transformations

    What makes the current wave of campus development especially noteworthy is its emphasis on multi-use functionality and community integration. Institutions are no longer investing solely in academic or athletic facilities in isolation. Instead, they are creating destinations that blend recreation, health, housing, and event-driven economic activity.