Size, Style, and Substance: ECoRE Is a Showcase for Engineering Impact

“It’s a legacy building,” Craig dubler says of the Engineering Collaborative Research and Education Building, which opened in the fall of 2024. As both an engineering alum and the director of facilities for the college, Dubler ’04 BAE, ’04 MAE, ’11 PhD Eng has a unique appreciation for the features that make ECoRE special. At 290,000 square feet, it is the largest academic building on campus, comprising seven general purpose classrooms, teaching labs, administrative offices for the aerospace engineering, architectural engineering, acoustics, and civil and environmental engineering departments, a knowledge commons, and ample general-purpose space to encourage gathering and collaboration among students, faculty, and staff. ECoRE’s innovative design and construction—Dubler calls it a “living lab”— gives students the chance to learn from various architectural, mechanical, and electronic features of the building itself. 

Space for One, and All

Individual work stations (below) are intentionally separated from research labs, but still close to common areas and conference rooms, providing grad students places to focus or collaborate. A large common area (above) echoes the spaciousness and exterior views provided by the iconic Kunkle Lounge that once joined Hammond and Sackett buildings, hinting at how West Campus has recentered the life of the college.

Passing the Test: Rooms for Simulation, Sound, and Spin

Research and teaching spaces at ECoRE include the anechoic flow-through chamber (above), a soundproof room used primarily by acoustics and aerospace engineering students for audio testing of rotor blades; a flight simulator (below), part of the federally funded Vertical Lift Research Center of Excellence; and an icing chamber (left) that can recreate a wide range of atmospheric conditions—including subzero temperatures—for rotocraft blade ice analysis.

Built for Builders: Innovation on Display at EDI 

It may be subtle at first glance, but the façade of the new Engineering Design and Innovation Building hints at its purpose: The concept, Dubler explains, was “a toolbox sitting on a pedestal. Because students have all the tools they need in the building to design and build engineering concepts.” The college’s Learning Factory and School of Engineering Design and Innovation (SEDI) are housed in the building, as are maker spaces that are available for students from any college on campus. The result is a facility that can accommodate the work of both first-year students just learning the discipline and fourth-years wrapping up degree work—as Dubler puts it, “from cornerstone to capstone.” Among the building’s signature features is the Aramco High Bay (below), one of just five of its kind in the country, with a “strong wall” and “strong floor” that allow for high-level structural testing.

Into the Woods

Sustainability was top of mind in the construction of EDI—like ECoRE, it’s LEED Gold certified—including flooring (above) using 3/4-inch end-grain wood—much stronger and more resilient than traditional wood floors—in place of much of the concrete that would normally be required. Below, mass timber mullions are used to support the curtain wall system in place of steel or aluminum, which brings environmental benefits and allows for the dramatic view of the West Campus quad.

Four Site

The fourth floor of EDI is home to four student-designed geodes, which help break up the 10,000 square feet of work space. A “Meeting Geode” (above) provides a quiet space for collaborative work; a “Capture Geode” allows students to record projects, while two “Retreat Geodes” offer quiet spots for reading or relaxing. At left, the massive fourth-floor build space is open 24/7 for work on class projects or for “Build Nights” on everything from upholstery to charcuterie boards. Below, the EDI metal shop is regularly buzzing with activity.

Home Sweet Home

While the additions of ECoRE and EDI technically haven’t expanded the University Park footprint, they have shifted the geographic center for some 9,000 engineering students. The result, for those who regularly venture across Atherton Street via Westgate Building (above), is a mini-campus that feels like a destination, and a home base for the next generation of Penn Staters who are learning how to build the future.