San Francisco State University Builds Science & Engineering Innovation Center

San Francisco State University is building the $169 million Science & Engineering Innovation Center to provide leading-edge labs and classrooms for STEM education. Delivered by the design-build team of SmithGroup and DPR Construction, the 179,000-sf complex will comprise 125,000 sf of new construction and 54,000 sf of renovated space. The collaborative facility will feature three studio-style chemistry teaching venues with configurable workstations that will integrate lab and lecture functions in a single interactive setting. The project will also house faculty research labs, two maker spaces, a machine shop, a robotics and mechatronics lab, a protein crystallography suite, and a physical chemistry and chromatography lab with two mass spectrometers. An applied engineering space with a strong floor, a strong wall, and a shake table will enable the prototyping and testing of structural components, while a fluids and process controls lab will allow students to gain hands-on experience with hydraulic systems and ventilation equipment. Offering interdisciplinary lecture halls and seminar rooms that will be accessible to the entire campus community, the center will also house the College of Extended Learning, the Student Success Center, and the Office of Student Enrichment. 

LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the all-electric building, which will feature a high-reflectivity cool roof, advanced lighting controls, low-flow plumbing fixtures, high-performance glazing, and an active mechanical heat recovery system with a water-source heat pump. Construction began in September of 2021 and occupancy is expected in January of 2024.