CARSON, Calif.—Building contractor C.W. Driver Companies has completed its work on the $66.5 million, 107,600-square-foot Innovation and Instruction building at California University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The building, now open for classes, will serve as the new home of the College of Business Administration and Public Policy.

Among the new instructional building’s amenities are a 250-seat auditorium and a 120-seat active learning classroom. The latter will perform double duty as an event center that features kitchen support amenities. The auditorium itself will likewise be able to function as an active-learning environment in addition to hosting large gatherings. Additionally, the building will host two 60-seat case study rooms, computer laboratories, various gathering spaces, administration offices, cafeteria, kitchen and faculty space.

The first floor features an open lobby, four-story atrium, student café and an area specifically devoted to student counseling. The second floor will entail the computer labs and classrooms, as well as an interactive classroom that will feature a simulated ticker tape readout reminiscent of an actual trading floor. The second and third floors each have case-study rooms for use by students in the College of Business. The third and fourth levels feature 92 faculty and departmental offices and additional classrooms. The building also hosts a broadcast room where students can enjoy even more interactive learning environments and make use of distance learning as well.

All four floors feature a common central open stairway that is meant to foster greater interaction among teachers, faculty, students and the larger surrounding community.

“We have enjoyed our partnership with CSUDH, lending our years of experience constructing projects for California universities to complete another cutting-edge facility designed to support the evolving needs of higher education,” Tom Jones, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies, said in a recent statement. “With several active learning classrooms and external collaboration areas, interaction and continuous learning are encouraged among students and educators.”

The Innovation and Instruction Building is part of CSUDH’s broader overall plans to make capital improvements throughout the campus.

“The outstanding design and dynamic quality of the Innovation and Instruction building are ushering in a new era of campus facilities that match the caliber of the academics taking place,” Roshni Thomas, director of facilities planning, design and construction at CSUDH, said in a recent statement. “The C.W. Driver team was an excellent partner in bringing our vision to life, helping us to navigate this challenging period for construction.”

C.W. Driver worked with designer HGA Architects & Engineers on the Innovation and Instruction Building. The contractor’s previous work at CSUDH included the Science and Innovation Building, which the contractor finished in 2019.

C.W. Driver has been operating in California since 1919. The general contractor’s other educational work throughout the Golden State includes the Pomona College Rains Athletic Center, Orange Coast College’s Language Arts and Social Science Building, Mesa College’s Fine Arts Building, the Keck Center for Science and Engineering at Chapman University, and Vanguard University’s Waugh Student Center. Engineering News Record’s has ranked C.W. Driver among its Top 150 General Contractors and Top 100 Construction Managers.

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CARSON, Calif.—C.W. Driver Companies recently completed construction on California State University, Dominguez Hills’ (CSUDH) new $71.5 million Science & Innovation Building. The 87,000-square-foot facility features state-of-the-art laboratories, faculty offices and classrooms that will help prepare the university’s students for careers in science, technology engineering and math (STEM).

“It was a pleasure partnering with CSU Dominguez Hills to bring their vision of a modern science and innovation facility to life,” said Tom Jones, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies. “Minimizing impact to current students and staff was a high priority for us, and we used acoustic sound blankets, among other measures, to ensure the project stayed on schedule without disrupting the rest of the campus.”

The façade features alternating blue and gray colored panels meant to convey a decoded DNA strand, while bamboo wood and metal panels line the interior. To accommodate the facility’s science and technology uses, C.W. Driver Companies installed sophisticated mechanical and plumbing systems, including special supply and return air ducting, more than 60 fume hoods and extensive laboratory waste disposal systems. Electrical systems line every classroom, consisting of medium and low voltage utilities, data ports, and substantial audio-visual features.

Toyota USA Foundation provided a $4 million grant to CSU Dominguez Hills that was used in part to fund the project. In recognition of this generous grant, the Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM Education was established in the building. The Toyota Center features a fabrication lab, spaces for K-12 teaching demonstrations and training, SMART classrooms, collaborative workstations and an outdoor workspace.

The Science and Innovation Building was designed to achieve LEED® Platinum Certification. C.W. Driver utilized regional and recycled materials such as limestone plaster, an aluminum composite panel rain screen system, energy efficient storefront windows and curtain walls as well as exterior shading devices to enhance energy efficiency.

“Our science and technology faculty couldn’t be happier with the end result of this project and the level of detail that the C.W. Driver team put in to fit the specialized needs of our curriculum,” said Roshni Thomas, director of facilities planning, design and construction at CSUDH. “We are confident that the Science and Innovation Building will enhance our capacity to better serve faculty, students and the community at large for years to come.”

C.W. Driver Companies worked alongside HGA Architects & Engineers on the project. Along with Jones, Sam Huleis, senior project manager; Megan Morrissey, assistant project manager; Rich Sadowski, senior superintendent; Koty Maywhort, assistant superintendent; Nick Dispenza, assistant superintendent; Jonathan Muller, senior project engineer; Diana Fraire, project engineer and Mark Vondran, chief estimator, headed up the C.W. Driver team.

Additional science and technology facilities from the builder include Chapman University’s Keck Center for Science and Engineering, Loyola Marymount University’s Life Sciences Building and Biola University’s Center for Science, Technology & Health.

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