The six-story innovation hub, with its six-story “makerspace facility,” replaces the James Building, which was built in 1920. Meant to be a new statement piece located at the edge of the university city’s downtown, it houses woodworking shops, a welding shop, a paint booth and spaces for 3D printing and microelectronics.
The building is designed to give entrepreneurs a low-cost space for startups. It includes offices, conference rooms, a large meeting area on the sixth floor, a virtual reality laboratory and event spaces. Internally, spaces are set up to be flexible and to accommodate a variety of needs.