THE BUILDING WILL FACILITATE PLANNED GROWTH AT THE UNIVERSITY
The $125 million University of Texas at Arlington Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building took a giant step forward Thursday when the University of Texas System Board of Regents approved the design of the new facility.
The university said that the modern steel-and-glass structure will encompass 220,00 square feet of space, and will be a showcase entry to the university’s campus, south of the existing Life Science Building.
BUILDING WILL ADD 900 TEACHING SEATS TO CAMPUS
According to UTA, the building will add 900 teaching seats in its classrooms and lecture halls and will support planned growth in the College of Engineering, the College of Nursing and Health Innovations, and the College of Science.
“The SEIR building will enhance UTA’s capacity to meet the state’s need for the generation of a highly skilled workforce and intellectual capital while assuring that we continue to rise in reputation as an R-1 university,” UTA President Vistasp M. Karbhari said in a release. “The approved plans support multidisciplinary teams working in large multiuse, collaborative spaces and will foster the generation of new ideas and solutions to real-life problems.”
The university said that construction of the building will begin in the fall, with completion expected in summer 2018. It will be a limestone, steel-and-glass structure, and it was designed “in accordance with sustainable practices, with high energy-efficiency heating and cooling systems, water conservation practices and sustainable materials for flooring and interior finishes.”
The building was designed by Page and ZGF Architects. It will have a four-story wing with a basement level for research laboratories, and a two-story classroom wing that can be used to host conferences and workshops.
“The building itself is designed to inspire students to become interested in research and pursue further careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.” – Duane Dimos, UTA vice president of research
The university said that a key design element is glass interior walls that will facilitate work in the collaborative lab space to be visible to first-year students.
Duane Dimos, UTA’s vice president for research, called the concept, “science on display.”
“The building itself is designed to inspire students to become interested in research and pursue further careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” Dimos said.
UTA was one of three North Texas universities that were recently designated as prestigious R-1: Doctoral Universities – Highest Research Activity status by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
UT Arlington is the second largest institution in the University of Texas System with more than 52,000 students on campus or taking online courses.
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