Florida Polytechnic University Applied Research Center

Year: 2024 Design & Honor Awards | Category: Built Project over 5,000 SF

The Florida Polytechnic University (FPU) Applied Research Center building supports the growth and development its students, staff, and faculty in both academic learning and research. It brings together state-of-the-art laboratories, workshops, and classrooms organized around a central community space that celebrates their curiosity, innovation, and spirit. The modern design results from a focus on high-performance design and a campus architecture interested in modernity. The Center is poised to become an essential part of fulfilling the University’s mission to produce industry-ready students, perform applied research, and support economic development in Central Florida and throughout the state.

Design Challenge

­Established in 2012, Florida Polytechnic University is a relatively young University with ambitions of growing into one that is a beacon of science and technology. The design challenge for this building is to maximize working lab and classroom space will provide adequate collaborative and social connection internally and to the overall campus. All within a small triangular site.
Innovative ideas

The vectors of pedestrian activity from the campus shape the concept of two programmatically responsive wings around a central atrium and the heart of the building. The building celebrates connections in a design that seeks to provide a destination that acts as the soul of research at FPU. This connectivity — demonstrated through the visual and spatial experience — creates an environment that helps stimulate interest in education and offers opportunities for personal relationships to develop. Transparency throughout the building puts research and technology on display, inspiring students and educators.

We organized the program so that the activity of the building looks both inward and outward for activation and inspiration. Designed for connection and collaboration, the centralized zone and atrium activate the building. To account for the growth and changing needs of the Applied Research Center, we organized teaching and research spaces. This allows for transformation and flexibility into a creative and performance-driven space for students and faculty.

Firm
HOK

Owner
Florida Polytechnic University

Project Location
Lakeland, Florida

Completion Date
8/1/2022

Architects and Designers
Todd Bertsch
Aaron Wilner
Virginia Byers
Chris Patterson
Syve-Roy Grant

Structural Engineer
Walter P. Moore

Civil Engineer
Chastain Skillman

MEP
Affiliated Engineers

Landscape
David Conner + Associates

General Contractor
Skanska

Technology Consultant
Waveguide

Photographer
Seamus Payne