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University of Kansas Earth, Energy & Environment Center

The first in a series of new science projects to define “Innovation Way,” the Earth, Energy and Environment Center (EEEC) serves as the central point for all energy and environment research and teaching on campus, bringing geology labs, classrooms, and support spaces under one roof, facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration between programs and providing a hub for industry outreach, 3D visualization, and “flipped” classroom resources. The building features two lecture halls, a virtual reality cave, and abundant spaces for lab work and conferencing. The overall design focused on maximizing the use and flexibility of spaces, with many areas designed for concurrent use for learning—and industry—based research.

The research labs they designed focused on our desire to promote interdisciplinary research and created research neighborhoods...Although this is an interdisciplinary teaching and research space, Multistudio did not forget the importance of the feel for our student occupants, creating comfortable collaboration and study areas that attract many into the building. Bob Goldstein Associate Dean for Natural Sciences and Mathematics & Provost’s Special Advisor for Campus Development, University of Kansas

Details

Location

Lawrence, KS

Size

141,000 sq.ft.

AIA Kansas

Honorable Mention Design Award

AIA St. Louis

Merit Award for Interior Architecture

Learning by Design Magazine

Outstanding Project Award

Engineering News Record ‑ Midwest

Best Project ‑ Higher Education/Research

Associated General Contractors ‑ Kansas City

Building Excellence Award ‑ Project of the Year

Client

University of Kansas

Associate Architect

CannonDesign

General Contractor

Turner Construction

Image of the exterior of the Earth, Energy & Environment Center at dusk.

University of Kansas Earth, Energy & Environment Center

Transparency of programs and processes bridge higher education research and industry partners, promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and engagement.

The Earth, Energy and Environment Center (EEEC) at the University of Kansas is the first venue for this Tier 1 research institution with engagement of local and national business partners as its primary mission. This new home for geoscience and petroleum engineering creates a central point for all energy and environment research and learning on campus. Strategically located adjacent to key collaborating institutions and programs, EEEC facilitates interdisciplinary partnerships and provides a hub for industry outreach, 3D visualization, and active-learning classroom resources.

Image of the site plan showing the Earth, Energy & Environment Center on the KU campus.

Located at the convergence of the community and campus grids, the facility responds to each by breaking the mass into two buildings, each relating to its immediate context—learning spaces aligned with academic context and industry outreach and research aligned with community context. The building’s massing is further reduced by using the site’s significant grade change to push programs below grade, helping to relate building massing to the scale of the surrounding historic campus context. Walkways connect the two buildings of EEEC to each other and to the adjacent engineering and geology buildings, promoting interdisciplinary connectivity and collaboration within the classroom, labs, and social areas of the building.

Image of the interior central circulation connecting three levels with a prominent A 45-foot-long mosasaur fossil hanging from the Slawson Hall atrium.

A continuous circulation spine navigates three floors of elevation change, connecting all major programs to the public spaces of the building.

Image of the interior of the KU Earth, Energy & Environment Center showing the connections between the three levels and transparent "floating" meeting spaces.

Image of the interior of the Earth, Energy & Environment Center showing transparency between lab space and circulation space.

Interior transparencies put learning on display, prioritizing daylighting and connections to the building’s research laboratories. This transparency of programs creates a valuable view into the research, processes, and resources that are propelling innovation linked directly to industry and our economy, further eliciting inquiry and knowledge of the programs and partnerships supporting the University’s research mission.

Image of the interior adjacencies between lab space and hoteling office/study space.

Co-locating conference space and industry hoteling office space directly adjacent to their respective research lab components provides a unique bridge between higher education research and industry partners that is both fluid and intentional. This strategy creates opportunities for student and researcher engagement as a part of everyday activity.

A series of ‘floating’ glass boxes provide meeting space that is engaged from multiple dimensions, creating overlap of student, faculty, and professional communities. This unique, yet deliberate, overlap and transparency of programs continually connects academia to industry and real-world experiences.

Detail image of exterior terracotta panels.

Detail image of the exterior terra cotta panels.

The tonal terracotta façade provides a respectful, modern stitch in the historic limestone campus fabric. Extensive glazing activates exterior space and promotes interdisciplinary campus connections through program visibility. Subtle texture variations in the terracotta panels identify Kansas’ geologic layers, making the building an educational tool for the research within.

Image of the exterior of the KU Earth, Energy & Environment Center showing transparency towards the campus.

As a venue for partnerships between private industry and higher education research, a catalyst for interdisciplinary research and learning, and a building-as-teaching-tool for geologic studies, the new Earth, Energy and Environment Center at the University of Kansas provides a unique focal point at the center of a historic main campus.

Image of the exterior of the KU Earth, Energy & Environment Center showing the relation to some of the historic campus context