The Vision
It began with a powerful vision. Forward thinking professors in nine departments of science, mathematics, and engineering recognized that break-though discoveries in the 21st century will be increasingly interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial in nature. Collaborating on how best to deliver science education to future generations of Trinity students, they created a new curricular initiative called Interdisciplinary Science Education through Research (ISER).
The intent was to expose students to different disciplinary perspectives and encourage student research. Their innovative approach ignited student interest, exposed more students to the excitement of discovery, and drew significant support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the W. M. Keck Foundation, and the Merck Foundation. But it also highlighted the very real need for facilities that address and accommodate this new reality in science and engineering education.
Responding to that need, Trinity broke ground in May 2010 on the $127 million Center for the Sciences and Innovation, the largest development ever undertaken on the campus. To be completed in phases, the project includes new construction along with major renovations of existing buildings configured to create an integrated complex approximately 280,000 square feet.
Designed by the award-winning Boston firm of Einhorn Yaffee Prescott (EYP) Architecture and Engineering, in partnership with the San Antonio firm of RVK Architects and a committee of faculty and staff, the Trinity University Center for Science and Innovation will include:
- Glass-walled classrooms, study areas, faculty offices
- State-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories
- Enhanced safety features
- Café and gathering areas to stimulate student/faculty interaction and discourse
- Dramatic design features (grand entrance, atrium, and elevated walkways)
The Trinity University Center for the Sciences and Innovation will meet rigorous LEED sustainability criteria. A landscaped bioswale will capture and filter rainwater.
When the dust finally settles-completion is scheduled for Spring 2014-- Trinity University will be home to the most visionary and far-reaching complex of science and engineering teaching and research facilities that any institution of higher learning could hope to have. Stunning spaces equipped with the most advanced teaching resources will engage students and faculty from all disciplines in an academic hub of creative thinking, learning, and discovery. Designed to blur the boundaries between disciplines and demystify the sciences, the new facility will dramatically alter science education on the Trinity campus and propel Trinity students to the exciting forefront of interdisciplinary research.
