On April 21, the University of California, Berkeley, celebrated the opening of the newly expanded Grimes Engineering Center. The adaptive reuse project is a demonstration of cutting-edge engineering, repurposing the campus’ original Bechtel Engineering building as the foundation for the new Center. The redesign—comprising an addition of a two-story, glass-and-steel pavilion with a three-level open forum at the center—provides a light-filled structure that flexibly accommodates classrooms, student services, and special events.
The Grimes Engineering Center will not only provide new study and collaboration spaces, but it will also showcase the vibrancy of engineering for all who come here. It will empower generations of future engineering innovators and leaders to be effective agents for positive change in our society, and I am deeply grateful to everyone who has made this possible.
The center creates a welcoming new public face for the storied engineering school overlooking the Memorial Glade, an open green space at the center of the campus. As a counterpoint to the Brutalist character of the original building below, the 35,570-square-foot glazed addition also doubles as a teaching tool. The structural systems are intentionally exposed, allowing engineering students to examine connections, gussets, braces, a rod-hung stair, and an innovative shape memory alloy tension-rod system. The design offers an immersive example for students to experience pioneering solutions to engineering challenges.
