The University of New Mexico opened the $35 million Lobo Rainforest building in August of 2017 in Albuquerque. Designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini as a living laboratory for entrepreneurial education, the six-story, 160,000-sf facility offers accommodation for 300 students, classrooms, collaboration spaces, meeting rooms, videoconferencing suites, and business incubators. Representing the first phase of the Innovate ABQ research district, the building will accommodate programs for the UNM Innovation Academy, as well as housing UNM’s technology transfer office. The Air Force Research Laboratory has leased space in the building, providing students with access to advanced technological instrumentation. The project team included Signet Development and Goodman Realty Group, from whom the university will lease the facility for 30 years before assuming ownership. General contractor Jaynes Corporation broke ground on the project in July of 2016.
