Designing the Future Tech Building
Over the course of the last six months with our partner firm, Lombard Conrad Architects, we have been exploring and testing design opportunities through virtual and in-person workshops with the forward-thinking College of Eastern Idaho leadership team for the new 90,000 sf Future Tech Building.
The new Career Technical Education (CTE) facility will be a regional resource, providing a breadth of opportunities for hands-on study and application of technology through the learning laboratory and educating the next-generation workforce in the growing technology corridor including the expanding presence of the nearby US Department of Energy Idaho National Laboratory.
The new facility will have a focus on training in the practical application of the region’s energy resources and will be a learning laboratory for students preparing to join the energy, sustainability, and technology fields. Programs in the building aim to connect the high tech and high-touch growing fields representative of Industry 4.0 including Cyber Security, Network Engineering, Advanced Manufacturing, Agri-Tech, Energy Systems Technology, and Radiation Safety. The facility and its range of technical programs will also be a resource for local K-12 schools, offering teaching and learning space that inspires students to consider STEM careers.
Our team has taken a unique approach to the design of the building, rethinking the typical industrial materiality associated with CTE facilities and created a “humanistic” character that will support the students of the CTE program and broaden the appeal of the fields to all students on campus. Once complete, the facility will be a new front door and hub for all students on campus, servings as an attractive resource for on-campus study, gathering and activities.
