January 21, 2003

Engineering on the Move

Entire College of Engineering Moving to Centennial Campus

Model shows Engineering Buildings I and II. (Perkins and Will)

If you haven’t seen Centennial Campus lately, you may be surprised. The once pastoral setting is rapidly evolving to a gleaming high-tech mecca and helping the College of Engineering leave a giant footprint on the new millennium.

NC State University has awarded the construction contract for the first of two College of Engineering academic buildings. “Engineering Building 1” — designed for use by two departments, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering — will have over 90,000 square feet of classrooms, laboratories and offices for the departments.

The groundbreaking ceremony for Engineering Building 1 took place October 25, 2002, with a goal of occupancy by summer 2004.

The second College of Engineering academic building on Centennial Campus is being designed for two departments as well — Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering. When completed, Building 2 will consist of approximately 110,000 square feet of space for classrooms, labs and offices.

The construction of Building 2 should begin in 2003 with a completion goal date of early 2005. The approximate cost for both of these buildings is projected to be $90 million.

In addition to the two academic buildings, the University has contracted for the construction of a new energy plant on Centennial Campus. This first phase of the energy plant will provide steam and chilled water to heat and cool the new College of Engineering buildings. The plant will expand in future phases to support other buildings on Centennial Campus.

Back on Main (North) Campus, the College is now working on a master plan for a two-phased renovation of Daniels Hall, currently the home of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The first phase will cost approximately $7 million and will begin the process of relocating College of Engineering lower-division academic programs to Daniels Hall.

The College is able to undertake this much-needed expansion because North Carolina voters passed a $3.1 billion higher education bond referendum in 2001.

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