The 105,000 square foot STEM Center, the centerpiece of the College’s $62 million STEM Complex, opened for classes in January 2010. A highlight of the facility is the acute-angled glass wrapped corner known as the “prism.” The two-story space will house public sculpture, be illuminated to glow at night, and bring focus to the building. In essence, the prism will signify the College’s pursuit of science and enlightenment.
Located adjacent to the existing academic building, the design of the STEM Center supports modern educational trends such as small-group collaboration, hands-on learning, the use of multimedia tools, smaller class sizes, and cross-disciplinary approaches, while remaining flexible enough to respond to future pedagogical innovations.
The brightly colored interiors, light-filled rooms and corridors as well as a courtyard with ample seating will provide a stimulating learning environment and interaction between students and faculty. Meanwhile, large windows between the corridors and the laboratories will allow visitors to witness science and technology education in action. Within this environment, students will gain the hands-on experience in the practice of scientific, technical and cooperative skills required of the 21st century workforce.
By placing campus-wide resources such as a fitness center, aerobics studio, computer technology center, lecture hall, and café on the first floor, the STEM Center creates a new gateway for the campus. The tiered lecture hall, with advanced multimedia capabilities and pre-function space, will be open to the entire campus as well as local businesses and organizations, enabling the College to become more engaged with its local community.
With sustainable features such as a green roof, energy-efficient systems, recycled materials, and daylight harvesting, the four-story, brick-and-glass building has been designed to qualify for LEED Silver Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. This rating, which indicates that a facility minimizes environmental impact and limits use of nonrenewable resources, underlines the College’s commitment to preserving the local environment.
Official grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremonies will be held sometime in May, 2010.