The Ohio State University Breaks Ground on Energy Advancement and Innovation Center

The Ohio State University broke ground in November of 2021 on the $48.4 million Energy Advancement and Innovation Center in Columbus. Designed by Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects and Moody Nolan, the 66,000-sf facility will enable faculty members, students, entrepreneurs, and industry affiliates to pioneer new renewable energy technologies, smart energy systems, and green mobility solutions. The four-story building will include 8,000 sf of dedicated lab space, a 210-seat seminar room, a 96-seat café, and 3,000 sf of shell space to accommodate future expansion. Slated to achieve LEED Platinum certification, the net-zero-energy and carbon-neutral structure will utilize natural ventilation strategies, a narrow floorplate for enhanced daylight harvesting, and hydronic radiant heating and cooling technologies. Optimized by a fully automated building energy management system, the high-performance facility will act as a living laboratory for sustainable operations with photovoltaic arrays, hydrogen fuel cells, energy-generating elevators, and a direct current microgrid.

The public-private project is being delivered in collaboration with Ohio State Energy Partners and built by the joint-venture construction management team of Whiting Turner and CK Construction. Thornton Tomasetti is the structural engineer for the center with AEC as MEP engineer, EMH&T as civil engineer, Acentech as acoustical engineer, and Buro Happold as conceptual MEP engineer. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2023.