Santiago Calatrava-designed Florida Polytechnic University to Open
The new university, whose main buildings were designed by the famous Spanish architect, will officially open on 16 August
The new Florida Polytechnic University, whose main buildings have been designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, is to have its official opening this week.
According to the university, the main building - the Innovation, Science, and Technology Building - has been finished on schedule and under the $60 million budget.
Located on the north side of the central lake it is designed around, the exterior of the 200,000 sq. ft. building is made up of aluminum, aluminum cladding, concrete and glass.
The interior is made of concrete flooring and with columns, plaster, steel and glass.
It will function as the primary campus facility - housing classrooms, laboratories, offices, meeting spaces and an amphitheater for large events.
On the second floor, offices and meeting rooms are arranged around the 'Commons' - a large meeting space under the vaulted skylight.
The building's most distinctive feature is a pergola of lightweight aluminum trellis wrapping its exterior.
Speaking on the building's completion, Calatrava said: 'I am honored to have been involved in this project dedicated to the study ofscience, technology, engineering and math[s] - a set of subjects so crucial to our society and our economy.
'I am proud of what we have all achieved and I hope the young people that study here will be inspired to be creative and to meet their potential.'
