After making a bold design statement with its first academic building—the Institute of Science and Technology—Florida Polytechnic University is about to add a new look to its growing Lakeland, Fla., campus with the 90,000-sq-ft Applied Research Center. Scheduled to complete in May, the $45-million academic building will help expand the school’s STEM mission, creating new research spaces, teaching labs, student design areas, conference rooms and faculty offices. As an institution that prepares students for careers in engineering, the building also showcases the work of the HOK-led design team and construction manager at-risk Skanska USA Building.
“We’re able to capitalize on being a STEM institution with some very technologically advanced facilities but also some very unique buildings that push the limits of architecture and different engineering functions,” says David Calhoun, assistant vice president of facilities and safety services at Florida Poly.