Iowa State University is widely known for its diverse collection of academic programs and commitment to hands-on learning. To further strengthen its multidisciplinary culture of innovation, the University needed a high-quality, centralized space to support student work of all fields of study. The Student Innovation Center provides a flexible, dynamic space that encourages around-the-clock experimentation, collaboration, and free exchange of ideas.

This student-centered building serves as both a gateway and a destination on campus. The Student Innovation Center captures the spirit of higher education by housing physical and intellectual resources from all of Iowa State’s undergraduate colleges into a single facility to enable and promote interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration.

The concept of the Center is unique and had no precedent at the time of design. To create a building that truly supported the needs of students, the design team conducted an in-depth discovery process that included surveying the entire student body, hosting interdisciplinary and subject-area focus groups, and meeting with stakeholders.

Clad in a high-performing glass facade that balances aesthetic goals with environmental and performance priorities, each elevation manages the effects of solar heat gain while maximizing views to and from the building. This pleated curtainwall distinguishes the building on campus while signaling the quality of exploration conducted inside.

To accomplish its mission to be a space of collaborative learning, experimentation, and entrepreneurship for the entire university community, the building hosts a variety of fixed and flexible spaces for a variety of users, including prototyping labs, fabrication studios, and open classrooms.

Despite the high energy demands of the Center’s various makerspaces—including a glassblowing studio with furnaces operating 24/7—the project targets a LEED Gold certification. This is largely attributed to a dedicated outdoor air system, displacement ventilation, and high efficiency heat recovery.

The result is a building that serves as both a gateway and destination on campus, attracting undergraduate innovators, creators, and collaborators across disciplines inside a building that anticipates their needs and supports creativity wherever it grows.