“Novel engineering design and prototypes, innovation of new technologies, and patents will come out of this building.” - Rama Venkat, dean of Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering. The AEB is truly a place where real-world problems seek and find next-generation solutions.
Exterior
The new three-story 52,000 square foot building is the symbol of beauty, form, and function and sits at the heart of 51ԹϺ's “east-west innovation corridor”. Connected via a skywalk to the Thomas T. Beam Engineering Complex, AEB is neighbors with the Science and Engineering Building, and just a stone’s throw away from the Chemistry Building, with health sciences, physics, and life sciences further down the mall.
Level One Lobby: The Collaboratorium
The Collaboratorium welcomes AEB users and serves as the main building lobby. It also leads directly to the central first floor corridor connecting the Maker's Space, Flexitorium and first floor classrooms. The open space offers comfortable lounge seating and collaboration tables where students can gather, meet and relax.
Maker Space
Collaboration begins as you enter the first floor of the building where all pathways seem to lead to the Maker Space —the heartbeat of AEB. Workstations are topped with durable, non-conductive butcher block surfaces that command the center of the room. Bright yellow industrial extension cord reels lead visitors to look up at the exposed duct-work ceiling. The polished concrete flooring evokes a high-tech garage that could one day lay the groundwork for the next big innovation.
Open Concept Wet and Dry Labs
AEB's open-concept laboratories — dry/computational lab on second floor and wet lab on third floor — take center stage. The 6,000 square feet of the dry lab features flexible table configurations where researchers will develop the newest innovations in circuit design, robotics, big data, and cybersecurity. In the wet labs, transformational technologies will provide the pathway for the next big innovations that change the way the world operates in water resources management, energy solutions, and biomedical applications.