The 60,000-pound dome was placed atop a new 110,000-square-foot engineering and computer science building scheduled for completion before the start of the 2016 fall quarter. Photo: Wayne Armstrong
Friday was a celebratory day for the Daniel Felix Ritchie School of Engineering and Computer Science and the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging, as students, faculty, staff and donors gathered for the placement of a 60,000-pound dome atop a new 110,000-square-foot engineering and computer science building. The structure is scheduled for completion before the start of the 2016 fall quarter.
Fifty feet in diameter, the dome is comprised of an arching steel frame plated with 3,300 diamond-shaped copper shingles. Its ascension marks a new chapter in the evolution of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) programs at the University. DU is investing extensively in STEM education by expanding its research and innovation capacity to meet the needs of leading technology entrepreneurs and companies across Colorado. The new building was made possible by a gift of nearly $27 million from Chancellor Emeritus Daniel Ritchie and the late Bill Peterson, a University alumnus.
“Today we are topping off our initial investment to make DU synonymous with the extraordinary progress in technology innovation and entrepreneurship in Denver and Colorado, which positions all of us as global leaders,” JB Holston, dean of the Ritchie School, said at today’s dome-raising ceremony. “This building is a critical step toward recruiting the best and brightest students and faculty who wish to participate in the great innovation energy across the Front Range.”
Incorporating an open design, the facility will house state-of-the-art technology labs, flexible classrooms, community spaces and interdisciplinary institutes and centers, including the Knoebel Institute for Healthy Aging. Named in recognition of a gift from Betty Knoebel, the institute will support research on the dynamics of aging, including neurodegenerative diseases, cell biology and the biochemistry of aging.
“This building will serve the advanced programmatic needs and establish a vibrant threshold between the University’s undergraduate curriculum and its graduate research,” said University Architect Mark Rodgers. “The central rotunda, crowned by the dome, is designed to invite all of our students, faculty and community members in; to promote innovative interactions throughout our academic community.”
The building’s design is a collaborative partnership between Rodgers and Anderson Mason Dale Architects. It is being constructed by GH Phipps contractors.
Construction of the new building for the Ritchie School is just one project currently under way on campus. Earlier this fall, the Josef Korbel School of International Studies hoisted a blue-plated spire to mark the progression of the new Anna and John J. Sie International Relations Complex, scheduled for completion in February 2016.