Texas A&M University at College Station (TAMU-College Station) will build a $235 million Center for Learning, Arts and Innovation (CLAI) for the College of Performance, Visualization and Fine Arts. Construction is anticipated to begin in late 2026.
The TAMU-College Station learning center will enhance educational opportunities for students as well as enhancing research and innovation at the flagship campus
The university will take a two-phased approach to the project. The first phase will prioritize the construction of the facility, while the second will focus on future projects, including a new Performing Arts Center.
The CLAI will be a 186,900-square-foot building on West Campus, providing the space, resources and amenities needed to position TAMU-College Station as a higher education leader in the merging of arts, technology and human experience.
The 5-story building will include ample space for flexible teaching, performance and research that integrates technology and promotes interdisciplinary collaboration. The structure will include an enclosed mechanical penthouse alongside classrooms, visualization labs, fabrication/maker shops and faculty labs.
Additional spaces will be allocated for creative work studios, music rooms, costume teaching labs, athletic training rooms, academic success areas and performance labs. The university will build a performance venue alongside an audio recording and post-production studio, music practice rooms, scene shops, a movement studio/black box, a theatrical studio/black box, circulation and lobby space.
Notably, to provide enough room for performance spaces on the ground floor of the building, TAMU-College Station will make the first floor a double-height volume. The facility will also account for acoustically sensitive environments by incorporating isolation joints and floor recesses for isolation mats and topping slabs to separate each floor.
The TAMU-College Station learning center’s support systems will include HVAC equipment, a sprinkler system with a pump, storm drainage, electrical systems and telecommunication connections. Additional amenities and features include catwalks, elevators, screen walls, mechanical yards, crawl spaces, circulation, wayfinding signage and restrooms. Modern, cutting-edge technology will be incorporated throughout the structure.
Photo by AndreDaGamer, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, from Wikimedia Commons
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