Clark University has broken ground on a Center for Media Arts, Computing, and Design building on its Worcester, Mass., campus.
The center will be home to the university's Becker School of Design & Technology, the Department of Computer Science and programs within the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the university says in a news release.
The four-story, 70,000-square-foot building will be erected southeast of the Strassler Center.
The building will have a tiered classroom, a multimedia gallery, a robotics lab, a data science lab, teaching and collaboration spaces, and a video game library for researching interactive media and playing games.
The building will be laid out in two wings, clad in a grid of metal panels. The layout of the building and grounds will form a new academic quadrangle, adding additional green space to the campus. Floor-to-ceiling windows will overlook the new landscaping.
The building will be the university's first to use geothermal energy as a primary source for heating and cooling. It also will have all-gender restrooms.
The facility is expected to be complete by fall 2023.
Ayers Saint Gross is the architect, and Shawmut Design and Construction is the construction manager.
