Now an award winning live/work academic building designed by EDA Architecture in association with CannonDesign, clark | huesemann headed the Institute’s visioning study. After an in-depth study of the culture of entrepreneurship, the development of startups, and the process of “making,” clark | huesemann recommended methods of integration for these concepts into a collegiate living & learning environment. The visioning study for the new Lassonde Living & Learning Center identified attributes and characteristics that distinguish the Center as a completely unique innovation facility, reflective of the Center’s unique approach to entrepreneurial education.
Significant to the development of this study were learning visits to San Francisco and New York. These learning visits – dedicated to investigative work – included research and benchmarking of prominent, innovative spaces geared toward enhancing design thinking, leveraging cutting-edge fabrication techniques, and fostering an entrepreneurial mindset. The researched spaces included facilities that are live/work/collaborate spaces, academic spaces, and innovative workshops, specifically: IBM, TechShop, General Assembly, Rainbow Mansion, Pratt Institute, RocketSpace and the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Then, after carefully observing today’s students and understanding the needs of collaborative communities, their amenities, physical environments and infrastructure that supports these activities, key characteristics of the spaces studied were extracted and then translated to the academic environment.
The resultant recommendations were represented by a library of example photographs, diagrams, analysis, and attributes that can be applied at the collegiate campus to inspire human ingenuity and foster innovation. Here, our investigations lead to the ideation of a 400-bed entrepreneur community designed to encourage interdisciplinary overlaps and spontaneous student collaboration. This student-focused complex included apartment facilities for mentors-in-residence, residence hall directors and graduate students, and suite-style living units for undergraduates meaningfully interwoven with the various space types investigated.
Awards:
– International Interior Design Association, “BEST” (Brilliantly Executed Spaces and Thinking) Award, 2017
– LEED Gold
– Mentioned in Architectural Digest, Bloomberg Businessweek, New York Times, Fast Company Inc Magazine, Associated Press, ArchDaily
