In February, North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University (NC A&T) opened its new Engineering Research & Innovation Complex (ERIC). After over three years of construction, the $90 million project will serve as a driver of research, innovation, and economic impact. A public, historically Black land-grant research university in Greensboro, N.C., NC A&T is the nation’s top producer of undergraduate-level engineering degrees for African Americans.
![ERIC ext 2](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1014033_02_N84_web.jpg)
EYP—a design firm specializing in higher education, government, healthcare, and science and technology—steered the design of the open, airy, glass-paneled facility. The four-story, 130,000-square-foot space boasts state-of-the art features that provide the technology and amenities to help transfer knowledge from academia to industry and government. In addition to classrooms, conference rooms, and offices, ERIC includes wet and dry labs; biomechanical, cybersecurity, and systems engineering labs; and maker and fabrication spaces. ERIC also has modern learning spaces both indoors and outdoors.
![Glass paneled](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1014033_02_N85_web.jpg)
ERIC will accommodate a growing number of students at NC A&T’s College of Engineering. Fostering creative collaboration across disciplines and within the community, ERIC will serve as an interdisciplinary and multifunctional center for academics, research, and community engagement that will help form a pipeline of STEM leaders. The complex also will help create new job opportunities while serving as a catalyst for short- and long-term economic growth and development throughout North Carolina.
![Community engagement](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1014033_02_N59_web.jpg)
“ERIC is a hot space for innovation where faculty, staff, and students form industry partnerships and apply speed-to-market principles with new projects, prototypes, and job opportunities that impact the community,” Dan Fields, EYP’s project executive principal, says in a statement.
![Collaborative building](/sites/default/files/inline-images/1014033_02_N52_web.jpg)
Owner: North Carolina A&T State University
Design architect and architect of record: EYP
MEP engineer: RMF Engineering
Structural engineer: SKA
General contractor/construction manager: Balfour Beatty
Related Stories
| Jul 14, 2014
Foster + Partners unveils triple-glazed tower for RMK headquarters
The London-based firm unveiled plans for the Russian Copper Company's headquarters in Yekaterinburg.
| Jul 11, 2014
First look: Jeanne Gang reinterprets San Francisco Bay windows in new skyscraper scheme
Chicago architect Jeanne Gang has designed a 40-story residential building in San Francisco that is inspired by the city's omnipresent bay windows.
| Jul 11, 2014
Are these LEGO-like blocks the future of construction?
Kite Bricks proposes a more efficient way of building with its newly developed Smart Bricks system.
| Jun 11, 2014
David Adjaye’s housing project in Sugar Hill nears completion
A new development in New York's historic Sugar Hill district nears completion, designed to be an icon for the neighborhood's rich history.
| Apr 8, 2014
Fire resistive curtain wall helps The Kensington meet property line requirements
The majority of fire rated glazing applications occur inside a building to allow occupants to exit the building safely or provide an area of refuge during a fire. But what happens when the threat of fire comes from the outside? This was the case for The Kensington, a mixed-use residential building in Boston.
| Mar 25, 2014
Sydney breaks ground on its version of the High Line elevated park [slideshow]
The 500-meter-long park will feature bike paths, study pods, and outdoor workspaces.
| Jan 28, 2014
2014 predictions for skyscraper construction: More twisting towers, mega-tall projects, and 'superslim' designs
Experts from the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat release their 2014 construction forecast for the worldwide high-rise industry.
| Jan 21, 2014
2013: The year of the super-tall skyscraper
Last year was the second-busiest ever in terms of 200-meter-plus building completions, with 73 towers, according to a report by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
| Sep 23, 2013
Six-acre Essex Crossing development set to transform vacant New York property
A six-acre parcel on the Lower East Side of New York City, vacant since tenements were torn down in 1967, will be the site of the new Essex Crossing mixed-use development. The product of a compromise between Mayor Michael Bloomberg and various interested community groups, the complex will include ~1,000 apartments.
| May 1, 2013
World’s tallest children’s hospital pushes BIM to the extreme
The Building Team for the 23-story Lurie Children’s Hospital in Chicago implements an integrated BIM/VDC workflow to execute a complex vertical program.