Colorado State begins construction on 125,000-square-foot engineering and AI building

The Don and Susie Law Engineering Future Technologies Building will replace CSU’s 52,000-square-foot Glover Building with AI makerspaces, prototyping labs, a robotics arena, and flexible learning environments when it opens in fall 2028.
Sept. 28, 2026
3 min read
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Key Highlights

  • The building will feature fabrication labs, AI makerspaces, virtual reality suites, and flexible classrooms to foster innovation and interdisciplinary collaboration.
  • Funded by a combination of philanthropy, student fees, and foundation support, totaling $110 million, with a total project budget of up to $160 million.
  • Designed to accommodate 700 additional engineering students by 2032, supporting research growth and modern STEM education practices.
  • The project emphasizes open, interconnected spaces to promote interaction among students, faculty, and industry partners, moving away from isolated departmental layouts.
  • The facility will incorporate daylight, natural materials, biophilic design, and visible technology to enhance learning and campus aesthetics.
Rendering courtesy of DLR Group
Computer rendering of new engineering building exterior with students walking outside.

Colorado State University is moving ahead with construction of a 125,000-square-foot academic building designed to bring engineering, computer science, artificial intelligence, and emerging technologies together on its Fort Collins campus.

Demolition of the former 52,000-square-foot Glover Engineering Building began in May to make way for the Don and Susie Law Engineering Future Technologies Building, according to a press release, which noted that foundation work started this summer, and the new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028.

The project will be the result of a collaboration between Adolfson & Peterson Construction and DLR Group through a design-build arrangement, with DLR providing architecture, electrical engineering, interiors, lighting design, planning, programming, and high-performance design services.

AI, robotics, and prototyping shape the program

The building is intended to serve as an interdisciplinary, innovation hub for students in Colorado State’s Walter Scott, Jr. College of Engineering and related programs. Planned spaces include a fabrication machine shop, rapid prototyping laboratories, computer classrooms, flexible learning areas, and an AI makerspace. A space called “The Sandbox” will contain augmented- and virtual-reality suites and a robotics arena.

DLR Group’s current project description also identifies digital and physical prototyping labs, experiential learning labs, startup garages, offices, student-support centers, and adaptable classrooms among the building’s program elements.

Rather than separating those functions into isolated departments, the design places teaching, making, advising, research, and informal collaboration spaces in closer proximity. Open stairs and shared circulation areas are intended to increase interaction, while quiet rooms and focus laboratories provide space for concentrated work.

Benjamin Strain, AIA, LEED AP, Principal, Higher Education Design Leader at DLR Group said in a statement:

“Our design actively supports cross disciplinary collaboration and discovery. By making hands-on learning, research, and student support highly visible and interconnected, the building re-envisions how engineers learn today while positioning Colorado State University at the forefront of future technologies.”

The facility is also being designed to fit CSU’s existing Prairie School-style campus architecture while incorporating daylight, natural materials, biophilic elements, and highly visible technology.

Why it matters

The Law building is more than a replacement for an aging academic facility. Its program reflects how engineering education is changing as computing, artificial intelligence, robotics, fabrication, and traditional engineering disciplines increasingly overlap.

The evolution of the project also provides a useful example of capital planning in practice. CSU began with a larger vision but reduced the building program as the design was reconciled with available funding. The resulting 125,000-square-foot project concentrates investment in flexible classrooms, hands-on laboratories, prototyping, AI, and student-support spaces rather than simply replacing the former Glover Building square foot for square foot.

For colleges planning new STEM facilities, the balance between specialized technology, adaptable space, enrollment goals, and capital constraints is becoming as important as the building itself.

Students and donors committed $110 million

The project was launched through a combination of philanthropy and student funding, according to a 2024 announcement by the university. Don and Susie Law, both CSU alumni, provided a $10 million gift that helped initiate the project while CSU students subsequently committed $50 million from existing student fees, and the Walter Scott Family Foundation pledged another $50 million to match the student investment.

That puts the combined student and donor commitments at $110 million. Colorado legislative documents previously authorized a project budget of as much as $160 million, although the latest Sept. 10 construction announcement did not provide a revised total cost for the smaller 125,000-square-foot design.

When CSU announced the investment, it said the building could help accommodate 700 additional engineering students by 2032 and support growth in research activity.

This piece was created with the help of generative AI tools and edited by our content team for clarity and accuracy.
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