Farnsworth Group and its design partners transformed an existing 95,000-square-foot office building into a new College of Engineering facility for Illinois State University, providing full-service architectural and engineering design and construction administration for the design-build project.
By repurposing the existing building, the project advances campus sustainability initiatives while retaining useful infrastructure and furnishings. The renovated facility creates a contemporary engineering learning environment with classrooms, materials and computer laboratories, design studios, maker spaces, a lecture hall, collaboration areas, and faculty offices.
At the heart of the building, a central forum provides a flexible setting for events and encourages informal interaction among students and faculty. The result gives the College of Engineering a collaborative, technology-focused academic environment while extending the useful life of an existing building and supporting the University’s sustainability goals.
