Engineering Innovation Hub completes on SUNY New Paltz campus

The State University of New York (SUNY) at New Paltz’s new Engineering Innovation Hub (EIH) has recently completed construction. 

Designed by Urbahn Architects, the two-story EIH was built on a former parking lot on SUNY New Paltz’s main campus. It was designed to allow for a potential expansion to the east if the program requires more space in the future. 

The $13.5million, 19,500-sf building houses the College’s bachelor’s degree program in mechanical engineering, teaching and research lab spaces, 3D print prototyping labs, and the school’s Hudson Valley Additive Manufacturing Center (HVAMC). 

The HVAMC’s collection of 3D printers are some of the most advanced technology at any academic laboratory in the United States, according to the university. SUNY is the first institution of higher education in the country to be designated a Stratasys-MakerBot Additive Research & Teaching (or SMART) lab by Stratasys, a 3D printing hardware and systems company.

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The building welcomes students via a 661-sf entrance lobby designed to foster collaboration. It features display cabinets for 3D-printed artifacts, counters with computer charging and data outlets, lounge-style seating, and whiteboards. The building’s first floor also features seating niches within the hallways along the windows that integrate with benches, data access, and charging stations. A 1,900-sf teaching lab includes polished-concrete floors and painted steel columns, beams, and a metal deck ceiling. The HVAMC space is located on the first floor across from the teaching lab. An 850-sf machine shop, mechanical and electrical rooms, and public bathrooms round out the first floor.

The second floor is home to a smaller lounge/collaborative space at the end of its main corridor, eight faculty offices, an open office space, a 300-sf conference room, three research/teaching labs, and a 1,200-sf computer lab.

The EIH is centrally located on the SUNY campus and was designed to meet LEED Silver certification requirements.

Also on the Build Team: PC Construction (gc), Vanderweil Engineers (mechanical and electrical engineer), Leslie E. Robertson Associates (structural engineer) BET Engineering Consultants (civil engineer), and Edgewater Design (landscape designer).