NEW PALTZ, N.Y.—The new Engineering Innovation Hub (EIH) building at the State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz has been completed.

The two-story facility houses the College’s relatively new and highly popular bachelor’s degree program in mechanical engineering, and includes innovative teaching and research lab spaces, as well as the school’s Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center (HVAMC).

The new building was made possible by Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NYSUNY2020 Challenge Grant competition, in which SUNY New Paltz was awarded $10 million to support academic programs that translate directly into economic development in New York State. The College also received $1 million through the Governor’s Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council’s annual Consolidated Funding Application.

“[The] opening of the EIH at SUNY New Paltz is another great example of the growth of our high-tech sector in the Mid-Hudson Valley that will result in jobs and economic expansions throughout the region,” said Governor Andrew M. Cuomo. “We will continue to partner with higher education institutions and industry leaders to bring these types of visions into reality to inspire New York’s newest generation of innovators.”

Said SUNY New Paltz President Donald P. Christian, “The College extends its deepest thanks to Governor Cuomo and his team for recognizing the value of this project and its educational and economic benefits for the Hudson Valley region. This investment is projected to yield a regional economic impact of more than $75 million, and about 195 jobs, over 10 years.”

PC Construction, which has offices in Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, New York and North Carolina was general contractor on this impressive project. Urbahn Architects, a full-service planning and design firm based in New York City, designed this project.

“The $13.5 million, 19,500-square foot EIH houses faculty research and teaching labs, and state-of-the-art 3D print prototyping labs to support the engineering program and the work of companies partnering with SUNY New Paltz and HVAMC,” said Urbahn Architects Principal-in-Charge Natale V. Barranco, AIA, LEED AP.

Designed to meet a LEED Silver sustainability certification, the new Hub will support and diversify the College’s rapidly growing engineering programs, and foster collaboration between the College and local industry.

“The site of the new building is centrally located on campus, which required strict construction safety and logistics protocols to ensure the welfare of workers, students, faculty, and visitors during construction,” said PC Construction Project Manager Michael Davies.

“Relying on our team’s expertise in LEED certification procedures and the Lean Construction method, we have delivered a highly sustainable and energy efficient facility where engineering students can excel for years to come.”

Daniel Freedman is dean of the School of Science & Engineering and director of the HVAMC, which will operate a laboratory and offices in the new building. The HVAMC has been providing education, guidance, CAD design, advice on materials used for additive manufacturing, and 3D printing services to SUNY New Paltz students and educators, as well as to entrepreneurs and businesses since 2013.

“The Engineering Innovation Hub will significantly aid SUNY New Paltz in educating engineering students who will provide technological leadership in the Hudson Valley,” said Freedman. “It will also assist the wide variety of regional companies that make use of our state-of-the-art 3D printing technology and expert staff.”

Its collection of 3D printers constitutes some of the most advanced technology at any academic laboratory in the U.S. The College is the first institution of higher education in the nation to be designated a Stratasys-MakerBot Additive Research & Teaching or SMART lab by Stratasys, the world’s leading 3D printing hardware and systems company.

The Hub will also house the College’s popular new program in mechanical engineering, which has seen rapid enrollment growth since launching in 2014 in response to the critical need for highly skilled engineers in the Mid-Hudson Valley region.

The building—located within SUNY New Paltz’s main campus—was erected on a former parking lot near the existing engineering building, Resnick Hall. Urbahn Architects designed the Hub to allow for a potential expansion to the east, if the program’s growth requires more space in the future.

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NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — Construction on a new Engineering Innovation Hub is currently underway at the State University of New York (SUNY) New Paltz campus. The new facility will provide state-of-the-art education to SUNY’s engineering students as well as assist the wide variety of regional companies that will be able to use the 3-D printing technology at the new hub.

The architect on the project is New York-based Urbahn Architects, with PC Construction out of its Poughkeepsie, N.Y., regional office serving as the general contractor. The 19,500-square-foot Engineering Innovation Hub is expected to be complete by the end of 2018, and has a budget of $14 million. A groundbreaking took place for the project in October 2017 with SUNY President Donald P. Christian leading the ceremony.

The new Engineering Innovation Hub will help support and diversify the college’s engineering programs and address a critical shortage in engineers needed to serve advanced manufacturing interests in the region, according to Christian. In addition, the new hub will house the headquarters and laboratories of the university’s Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center (HVAMC), provide space for potential business partners under the state’s START-UP NY program and serve as a business incubator for technology and engineering startups in the mid-Hudson Valley.

Urbahn designed the new hub to allow for potential expansion if the program’s growth requires more space in the future. Of particular note, the hub will also provide a 3-D print prototyping lab to support the engineering program and the work of companies partnering with SUNY New Paltz and HVAMC.

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NY SUNY 2020 Challenge Grant program awarded $10 million to the project because of the school’s goals to improve economic development in New York state, using its high-quality educational and research programs. The university also received $1 million through the governor’s Mid-Hudson Regional Economic Development Council’s annual Consolidated Funding Application.

“The project had a tight, predefined budget based on a grant received from New York state,” said Ranabir Sengupta, AIA, LEED AP, associate principal at Urbahn. “The mandate from the college was to make the building distinctive, sustainable and modern to showcase the expanding engineering school and make a mark on the campus. The design challenge was to reconcile the two, and I think we did it successfully.”

The building site of the new hub  is a former parking lot located near the existing engineering building, Resnick Hall. The new building is centrally located on campus, requiring strict construction safety and logistics protocols to ensure the welfare of workers, students, faculty and visitors, according to Edward A. Kellogg, regional manager and construction executive at PC Construction.

The building is designed to meet LEED Silver standards. Sustainable features will include an on-site stormwater detention system, high-efficiency plumbing fixtures, energy-efficient lighting and HVAC systems, daylight harvesting and the use of recycled content for materials.

The design of the 661-square-foot entrance lobby is bright and open, wrapped in a glass storefront and glazed curtain wall systems to allow natural light into the area, with textured porcelain ceramic tile making up the lobby floors and gypsum board for the ceiling, according to Nandini Sengupta, LEED AP, senior associate at Urbahn Architects. In addition, the lobby will feature cabinets for the display of 3-D–printed artifacts as well as a textured wall art invoking 3-D–printed panels, with splashes of the school’s navy blue and orange colors.

The highlight of the building’s architecture is a cubic form that perches over the entrance plaza, according to Sengupta. “The textured, dark-gray cube with a luminous metal soffit and a backdrop of lighter forms announces the building as an important presence on the campus,” said Sengupta. “The design relates to neighboring buildings and opens up views to a quad, diagonally opposite it.”

To read the entire article, check out the March/April issue of School Construction News.

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Established in 1912, the college is now the largest tech school within the SUNY system, boasting more than 9,400 students. “Creating a spacious and attractive new home for our student organizations and clubs is the new chapter for this historic and beloved campus landmark,” said Farmingdale State College President John Nader in a statement.

The $12 million project consisted of a total gut and renovation with partial structural redevelopment of the brick, masonry, concrete and steel building. Likewise, the complete mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems were replaced, and ADA-compliant modernizations and energy-efficiency upgrades were also implemented. The project was overseen by general contractor Stalco Construction and BRB Architects (both based in New York).

Originally used as a power plant, the college wanted to preserve the structure’s early 20th century industrial aesthetic. “We set out to create a design that would have an industrial look, in recognition of the structure’s original purpose, while updating it to create modern and attractive interiors. To do this, we included partially exposed brick walls and structural steel, and we maximized the natural light coming in by adding clerestory windows,” said Joseph Zappulla, the architect-in-charge at BRB, in a statement.

The radio station now has an office and a broadcasting studio, with a DJ room installed inside of an acoustical box. The studio is equipped with an acoustically rated door and windows, five layers of sheetrock with acoustical clips between the wall layers and acoustical ceiling tiles on acoustical springs and additional Guilford of Maine FR701 2100 acoustic wall panels.

There is also a new architectural stairway, connecting the building’s two floors, over which Stalco installed polyethylene, fluorescent, globular-shaped pendant lamps, suspended at different levels. Festooning the top of the stairs are arty portraits of rock ‘n’ roll grandsires John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix.

“The functional program for the interiors was developed by a committee of college employees and students, and was finalized in the early stages of the project,” said Zappulla. “The team wanted to create a vibrant and exciting environment that would incorporate all student activities and unite them in one place.”

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