The project site is generally located on 15 acres south of the Lodewick Visitors Center and King Hill Road, and bounded to the east by Hillside Road and the south by Alumni Drive, including the area that formerly housed the Spirit Rock before it was moved recently<\/a> to a nearby site. More than half of the site was previously developed as parking lots.<\/p>\n In addition to construction of a new building to be known as Science 1, the Northwest Science Quad project includes a Supplemental Utility Plant (SUP), a passive open space corridor running east-west through the property, an extension of the existing utility tunnel and associated parking.<\/p>\n The remaining parking lots on the property were closed over the last few months in preparation for the project, which includes finishing the SUP and the Science 1 building in 2022. If all remains on schedule, the research labs and other facilities inside the high-tech building would be ready to use by fall 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cThis project is a crucial step forward in the state\u2019s investment in UConn as an engine for innovation and economic development in Connecticut,\u201d says Carl W. Lejuez, UConn\u2019s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. \u201cIt also builds on one of President Katsouleas\u2019s key priorities to boost entrepreneurship and research funding. I am excited to see these new facilities start to take shape and enhance the resources available to our faculty, staff, and students to advance Connecticut as a leading hub of STEM innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n The Science 1 building will be one of UConn\u2019s largest and most technologically advanced facilities and will house research, teaching and core laboratories; a 240-seat active-learning room to engage students more dynamically than traditional lecture halls; along with faculty offices, public spaces including a new cafe, administrative support offices, and informal gathering spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cAs a state, the growth of our STEM-related industries is crucial for our economy,\u201d says Kazem Kazerounian, dean of the UConn School of Engineering. \u201cIn order for our companies to keep moving forward, we need talent that will rise to meet the challenges and shifting consumer tastes inherent in these industries; these new facilities create that workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n The building\u2019s labs include traditional \u201cwet\u201d labs with chemicals, liquids, and other substances used for testing and analysis; along with \u201cdry\u201d labs where computer-generated models are created using computers for investigating a wide array of material science applications.<\/p>\n It also includes a \u201cclean room,\u201d a space designed to support specialized scientific research in a tightly controlled environment where contamination is minimized to protect the work by filtering airborne dust or other particulates from within the room.<\/p>\n \u201cThe plans for labs in Science 1 will bring to the forefront state-of-the-art facilities for interdisciplinary teaching, research, and outreach,\u201d says Steven L. Suib, UConn Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in chemistry and director of the Institute of Materials Science<\/a>, the largest UConn academic enterprise that will move from the nearby Gant Science Complex to the new building.<\/p>\n \u201cThe new interactive learning room will be used by many on campus,\u201d Suib says. \u201cSeveral core lab facilities will also allow researchers to carry out new research, sensitive projects, and provide opportunities for large multi-disciplinary activities with considerable outreach to researchers from industry as well as government labs.\u201d<\/p>\n Juli Wade, dean of the UConn College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, adds that the new facility \u201cwill allow UConn to take full advantage of our extraordinary potential for interdisciplinary research.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cEven in this time of stress to the University and the State, this development will foster innovations that will improve people\u2019s lives,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n The Northwest Science Quad (NWSQ) construction project involves several moving parts in terms of its schedule, since the nearby Gant complex is also undergoing renovations and modernization<\/a> and the new SUP which will provide utility services — including chilled water and steam to meet heating and cooling loads — for both complexes.<\/p>\n The Supplemental Utility Plant will connect via underground infrastructure to the Central Utility Plant on Glenbrook Road. The SUP project also includes electrical upgrades to significantly improve the campus electrical distribution system.<\/p>\n The schedules for the Gant renovation and Science 1 construction are being managed in tandem, since renovations in Gant\u2019s north tower cannot begin until the new building opens and the occupants move from Gant into the new space.<\/p>\n Science 1 is also designed to incorporate best practices in sustainability and energy efficiency, including having a rooftop solar array and targeting a minimum goal of LEED Gold certification<\/a> and certification of the NWSQ under the Sustainable SITES Initiative program.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Picture2-1024x756.jpg\")