“The project includes three major
initiatives,” said Hillhouse. “The top
floor of the building was set aside by the
University to serve as industry tenant lease
space. Start-up businesses get access to
expensive testing equipment on the lower
floors of the building and the university
benefits by getting opportunities to place
students with the businesses for hands-on
experience. A deal was brokered between
the university and a distributor for advanced
manufacturing equipment wherein the
distributer would loan the university its
newest equipment models for student
use and in return get the ability to bring
clients through to see the equipment in
action. Perhaps most importantly, MSU
Denver worked with industry to develop,
from scratch, a new curriculum resulting
in Advanced Manufacturing Sciences. The
Donated equipment from local
companies, such as 3D metal printers, are
housed in labs framed by large windows
so that passers-by can get a glimpse of
what’s going on inside. Building systems
are also on display, adding to the concept of
community and transparency.
“The building is designed with large
expanses of glass on these primary sides so
that as commuters enter the city or patrons
leave an event across the street, people can
look up into the building and see the activity
within,” Hillhouse said. “The primary view
into the building features a mock-up of a
spacecraft. Looking out from this same spot,
students get views to Pikes Peak.”
Flexibility is key, with services in the
lab distributed from overhead so that
equipment can easily be changed out when
newer models are available. All labs were
planned on a modular basis so that, if
necessary, they can be reallocated to adapt
to long-range program changes in the
future. The building is on track for LEED
Gold certification, and is also projected to
achieve 18 percent Energy Cost savings over
ASHRAE 90.1 2010 baseline requirements.
One example of the varied lab spaces in
the AES building is the advanced machines
and robotics facility, which features an open
floor plate design and overhead service
carriers in order to maximize potential
equipment layout and accommodate safe
working clearances for the machines.
The lab has 150-amp electrical busways,
The building itself is positioned along an
arterial entry into downtown Denver and
the central business district, with the two-
story Study Lounge and the Forum—the
building’s most active spaces—positioned
directly in the line of sight of commuters.
The site is located directly across the street
from the city’s 18,000-seat event center. A
half-scale prototype of the Orion spacecraft,
constructed by students using 3D printed
components, is displayed in the Study
Lounge, where it is visible from the street.
This community-centered atmosphere,
along with the variety of lab space in the AES
building, has been significant in attracting
a wide range of industry partners to
collaborate with MSU Denver.
variety of partnership opportunities.
“A major challenge for the design team
was the nature of the industry partnership
opportunities. Rather than a single,
foundational-level donation from a large
company, the opportunities tended to be
small-scale involving using a particular space
in a particular way,” said Erin Hillhouse,
Project Manager, Anderson Mason Dale
Architects. “We needed to be light on our
feet and able to quickly test modifications
to the design to see if the building could
morph to accommodate the partnership
The resulting building houses fabrication
spaces on the ground floor. The upper
floors house labs and classrooms dedicated
to other subjects linked to the advanced
manufacturing aerospace industry, such as
The advanced machines and robotics
facility features an open floor plate design
and overhead service carriers in order to
maximize potential equipment layout.
Credit: David Lauer
2018 Laboratory of the Year Awards
Flexibility is key at MSU Denver, with services in the
lab distributed from overhead so that equipment can
easily be changed out when newer models are available.
Credit: David Lauer
