Central Connecticut State University
Applied Engineering Hub
New Britain, Connecticut

93,000 sf • 8,640 SQ M • WITH AMENTA EMMA

Davis Brody Bond collaborated with Amenta Emma on the design of the new 93,000 sf Applied Engineering Hub for Central Connecticut State University’s School of Engineering, Science and Technology on their campus in New Britain, Connecticut. The facility houses flexible and innovative laboratories as well as instructional and project-based student spaces that support CCSU’s undergraduate and graduate programs in Mechanical, Electrical, Computer, and Civil Engineering.

The building contains departmental faculty offices, a 200-seat lecture hall and multi-purpose lounge/collaboration areas. Featured spaces include multiple robotics structures, and digital labs, as well as flexible, open project labs to promote student team-based collaboration.

Several of the building’s major technical spaces are located on the first floor to provide public access, as well as to provide additional headroom to support heavy loading in the labs. These spaces include the Robotics Lab, the Mechatronics Lab, the Fluid Controls (Pneumatics) Lab, a High Bay Structural Test Bay, and the Concrete Lab. Additionally, these program elements are carefully arranged and sequenced to make it easy for visitors and potential students to tour the building, talk with staff, and see new technologies in use. For example, Student Services and the Lecture Hall are located directly off the Lobby, followed sequentially by the Student Lounge that looks into the High Bay Structural Testing Lab. This fosters transparency and makes these program elements visible from both inside and outside the building. An open stair directly connects the lobby to the main classrooms on the upper levels. The Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering programs are located on these upper floors.

Located in the center of the CCSU campus, this new innovative and technologically advanced building strengthens and showcases the university’s commitment to engineering, technology, and interdisciplinary collaboration.

(Photography by Robert Benson)