C.W. Driver Companies, a leading builder serving California since 1919, today announced the completion of the $66.5 million Innovation and Instruction Building at California State University, Dominguez Hills (CSUDH). The new four-story structure features a 250-seat auditorium for teaching and symposia, one 120-seat active learning classroom, two 60-seat case study-rooms, meeting rooms, computer labs, event spaces, faculty and administration offices, a commercial kitchen, and a café. The new home of the College of Business Administration and Public Policy, the building opened for classes in spring 2022.
At 107,600-square-feet, the Innovation & Instruction Building is part of the school’s larger initiative to transform the campus with major capital projects that include the Science and Innovation Building, completed by C.W. Driver Cos. in 2019.
“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,” said Tom Jones, project executive at C.W. Driver Companies. “With several active learning classrooms and external collaboration areas, interaction and continuous learning are encouraged among students and educators.”
The ground floor welcomes students and visitors with an open lobby, a four-story atrium, advising center, and student café. The 120-seat active learning classroom doubles as a university event center with kitchen support and is designed to host speakers and conferences and also serve as a banquet space. A 250-seat classroom on the ground floor is utilized as an active-learning environment.
The building’s second floor is comprised of classrooms and computer labs. A simulated trading room with lighted ticker tape information, as well as one 60-seat case-study room (there is a second case study room on the third floor)—as promulgated by the Harvard Business School model—are unique assets to students in the College of Business. A small broadcast room accommodates interactive lectures as well as distance learning. The third and fourth floors are comprised of 92 faculty and departmental offices as well as additional classrooms.
All four levels are connected by a central open stairway that enhances visibility of the programs and interactions of the students, faculty, administration and community.
“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,” said Roshni Thomas, director of facilities planning, design and construction at CSUDH. “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 Companies partnered with HGA Architects & Engineers on the CSUDH Innovation and Instruction Building. Other notable higher education projects by C.W. Driver Companies include the Pomona College Rains Athletic Center; Orange Coast College’s Language Arts and Social Science Building, Kinesiology and Athletics Complex and Student Union Complex; Mesa College’s Fine Arts Building; Chapman University’s Keck Center for Science and Engineering; Cal Poly Pomona’s Student Services Building; and Vanguard University’s Waugh Student Center.
As Seen In