The University of Utah’s Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute is one step closer to becoming an international destination for student entrepreneurs, innovators, and “makers,” as it breaks ground on the Lassonde Studios.
The five-floor, 148,000-sf building will merge more than 400 student residences with a 20,000-sf “garage” open for any student to attend events, build prototypes, launch companies, and more.
“This is a new type of building focused on experiential learning,” said Troy D’Ambrosio, Executive Director of the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute, an interdisciplinary division of the David Eccles School of Business. “The Lassonde Studios is the culmination of more than a decade of growth and achievement. We are already a nationally-ranked university for entrepreneurship. This remarkable building will make a great program even better and allow us reach many more students.”
The Lassonde Studios will open to students in fall 2016.
In conjunction with the groundbreaking, the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute released new details about the building, including living options (modular pod, loft, and traditional), elaborate architectural renderings, and amenities in the “garage.”
The Lassonde Studios is designed to be as innovative as the students and activities that will be inside. The Institute is working with an internationally-recognized architectural and design team to create a space that will define a new type of university environment and inspire entrepreneurs for decades to come. Partner companies include EDA Architects, CannonDesign, and ARUP. Gramoll Construction is the general contractor.
“Everything about this building has been unique and different, even our design process,” said Mehrdad Yazdani, of Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign and the lead designer for the Lassonde Studios project. “We started by challenging our assumptions about student housing and exploring the boundaries between where students live and work. The result is an entirely new campus building typology.”
The heart of the Lassonde Studios will be the “garage” on the first floor. It will be a mostly open space with moveable furniture to accommodate a wide range of activities. It will feature co-working space, private offices for startup companies, a cafe, lounge space, and a prototyping area with 3D printers, sewing machines, hand tools, and a laser cutter.
The garage space will be open to all student at the university, and it intended to function like a student union for entrepreneurs and innovators.
“We want to accelerate the time it takes for students to see their ideas become a reality, and we want to give them a place where they can meet and form interdisciplinary teams,” said Taylor Randall, Dean of the David Eccles School of Business. “The University of Utah already has a vibrant community for entrepreneurship. The Lassonde Studios will galvanize that community, and it will give every student the opportunity to pursue their dreams.”
The four floors above the “garage” will provide three types of housing, as well as additional co-working, study, and “maker” space. The living options include:
-
Moveable “living pods” – Designers invented this type of housing exclusively for the Lassonde Studios. The pods will be 7x7-foot, private living areas with beds, shelving and storage. The pods will be moveable within a larger, multi-use suite. Each suite will contain bathrooms, a kitchen and community “maker” space.
-
Loft rooms – Groups of students will be able to live together in a large, open space where they share creative space and a kitchen. These rooms will provide students with an urban lifestyle in the middle of campus.
-
Single and Double rooms – Students can choose standard rooms for individuals or to share with one other person. Groups of these single and double rooms will share creative space and kitchens.
The Lassonde Studios is made possible through the vision and support of Pierre Lassonde, a successful entrepreneur and MBA alumnus of the David Eccles School of Business. In addition to founding what is now the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute with a $13 million donation, he gave $12 million more to build the Lassonde Studios and support the activities inside. The remainder of the building costs will be paid for by other donations and rents from those living there. No taxpayer money is being used.
“Pierre Lassonde has a vision to make the University of Utah the best place in the country to study entrepreneurship,” D’Ambrosio said, “and the Lassonde Studios is helping make that dream come true.”
Related Stories
| Oct 18, 2011
St. Martin’s Episcopal School expands facilities
Evergreen commences construction on environmentally sustainable campus expansion.
| Oct 17, 2011
THOUGHT LEADER: Allan Bilka, Senior Staff Architect and Secretariat to the IGCC
Allan Bilka, RA, is a Senior Staff Architect and Secretariat to the International Green Construction Code (IgCC) with the International Code Council, based in the ICC’s Chicago district office. He also serves as staff liaison to the ICC-700 National Green Building Standard. He has written several ICC white papers on green building and numerous green-related articles for the ICC. A registered architect, Bilka has over 30 years of combined residential design/build and commercial consulting engineering experience.
| Oct 17, 2011
Austin's newest urban apartment complex under construction
Complex sits on a four-acre waterfront site along Lady Bird Lake with spectacular city and lake views, and is slated to open spring 2013.
| Oct 17, 2011
Aerialogics announces technology partnership with CertainTeed Corp.
CertainTeed to provide Aerialogics’ Aerial Measurement Services to its credentialed contractor base and utilize the technology in its Roofing Products Division.
| Oct 17, 2011
Big D Floor covering supplies to offer Johnsonite Products??
Strategic partnership expands offering to south and west coast customers.
| Oct 17, 2011
Clery Act report reveals community colleges lacking integrated mass notification systems
“Detailed Analysis of U.S. College and University Annual Clery Act Reports” study now available.
| Oct 17, 2011
USGBC L.A. Chapter's Green Gala to feature Jason McLennan as keynote speaker
Chapter to presents inaugural Sustainable Innovation Awards,
| Oct 17, 2011
Schneider Electric introduces UL924 emergency lighting control devices
The emergency lighting control devices require fewer maintenance costs and testing requirements than backup batteries because they comply with the UL924 standard, reducing installation time.
| Oct 14, 2011
AISC develops new interoperability strategy to move construction industry forward
AISC is working to bring that vision to reality by developing a three-step interoperability strategy to evaluate data exchanges and integrate structural steel information into buildingSMART's Industry Foundation Classes.