By Eric Althoff
CARSON, Calif.鈥擝uilding contractor C.W. Driver Companies has completed its work on the $66.5 million, 107,600-square-foot Innovation and Instruction building at California University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The building, now open for classes, will serve as the new home of the College of Business Administration and Public Policy.
Among the new instructional building鈥檚 amenities are a 250-seat auditorium and a 120-seat active learning classroom. The latter will perform double duty as an event center that features kitchen support amenities. The auditorium itself will likewise be able to function as an active-learning environment in addition to hosting large gatherings. Additionally, the building will host two 60-seat case study rooms, computer laboratories, various gathering spaces, administration offices, cafeteria, kitchen and faculty space.
The first floor features an open lobby, four-story atrium, student caf茅 and an area specifically devoted to student counseling. The second floor will entail the computer labs and classrooms, as well as an interactive classroom that will feature a simulated ticker tape readout reminiscent of an actual trading floor. The second and third floors each have case-study rooms for use by students in the College of Business. The third and fourth levels feature 92 faculty and departmental offices and additional classrooms. The building also hosts a broadcast room where students can enjoy even more interactive learning environments and make use of distance learning as well.
All four floors feature a common central open stairway that is meant to foster greater interaction among teachers, faculty, students and the larger surrounding community.
鈥淲e have enjoyed our partnership with CSUDH, lending our years of experience constructing projects for California universities to complete another cutting-edge facility designed to support the evolving needs of higher education,鈥� Tom Jones, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies, said in a recent statement. 鈥淲ith several active learning classrooms and external collaboration areas, interaction and continuous learning are encouraged among students and educators.鈥�
The Innovation and Instruction Building is part of CSUDH鈥檚 broader overall plans to make capital improvements throughout the campus.
鈥淭he outstanding design and dynamic quality of the Innovation and Instruction building are ushering in a new era of campus facilities that match the caliber of the academics taking place,鈥� Roshni Thomas, director of facilities planning, design and construction at CSUDH, said in a recent statement. 鈥淭he C.W. Driver team was an excellent partner in bringing our vision to life, helping us to navigate this challenging period for construction.鈥�
C.W. Driver worked with designer HGA Architects & Engineers on the Innovation and Instruction Building. The contractor鈥檚 previous work at CSUDH included the Science and Innovation Building, which the contractor finished in 2019.
C.W. Driver has been operating in California since 1919. The general contractor鈥檚 other educational work throughout the Golden State includes the Pomona College Rains Athletic Center, Orange Coast College鈥檚 Language Arts and Social Science Building, Mesa College鈥檚 Fine Arts Building, the Keck Center for Science and Engineering at Chapman University, and Vanguard University鈥檚 Waugh Student Center. Engineering News Record鈥檚 has ranked C.W. Driver among its Top 150 General Contractors and Top 100 Construction Managers.