CU Boulder breaks ground on $82.5M aerospace engineering building

BOULDER — The University of Colorado Boulder on Thursday broke ground on an $82.5 million aerospace engineering building. CU Regents approved the project in June.

The 144,000-square-foot building will have an indoor flight environment for unmanned aircraft that is expected to drive innovation for CU’s nationally ranked program.

“CU Boulder has long been at the forefront of aerospace education and research, and this new facility showcases our commitment to enhancing the ability of our students and faculty members to lead in a way that is innovative and impacts humanity in a positive way,” said Philip DiStefano, CU Boulder’s chancellor.

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DiStefano and other guests, including College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean Bobby Braun, Jay Lindell of the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, and CU alumna Kathryn Tobey, a Lockheed Martin Space Systems executive, joined students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members in kicking off construction of the facility. It is slated to open in the summer of 2019 on CU Boulder’s East Campus.

The new building will combine learning spaces with collaborative research areas that integrate student and faculty work and promote interdisciplinary endeavors that are expected to drive new discoveries and technologies.

The indoor flight environment will provide for the testing of unmanned aerial systems, while a roof design will accommodate faculty research and provide the sight lines necessary for activities such as tracking satellites. The building will also include space modeled after the Integrated Teaching and Learning Laboratory, an award-winning, hands-on learning environment at CU Boulder’s engineering center that has proven crucial to student success. Other key features include a 200-seat auditorium, distance learning-equipped classrooms, faculty offices and spaces for graduate students.

The building is located between the Sustainability, Energy and Environment Community and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics’ Space Sciences Building. It will create a  hub for space-related programming, with other LASP facilities and the nearby Astrophysical Research Laboratory just short walks away.

The design team for the building includes HCM Inc. and Ratio Architects, while the general contractor is Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. The build team hopes to achieve at least LEED Gold certification from the United States Green Building Council.