Perkins & Will

Watt Family Innovation Center

Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer

WATT FAMILY INNOVATION CENTER

Perkins+Will

ARCHITECTS
Perkins&Will

MANUFACTURERS
ACGI, Haworth, Signify

FIRE PROTECTION
Miles Engineering

STRUCTURAL
4SE Structural Engineers

CIVIL
Dutton Engineering

COMMISSIONING
Integral Group

MEP
RMF Engineering

AUDIO/VISUAL
BrightTree Studios

IT
Datacom Design Group

PHOTOGRAPHS
Jonathan Hillyer, Michelle Litvin

AREA
77000 ft²

CONTRACTOR
Turner Construction

LOCATION
Clemson, United States

CATEGORY
Research Center

YEAR
2016

Text description provided by the architects.

Clemson University’s Watt Family Innovation Center provides a unique environment in which advanced instructional technologies foster student engagement and industry partnerships to address real-world problems.

Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer

Located on a long, narrow site adjacent to a vibrant and active campus quadrangle, the facility engages passersby and invites students to take ideas from concept to marketplace by the use of its rich program spaces.

The building is massed as two truncated triangles slipping past one another and forming entry points. The west side triangle is more solid to support core facilities and cross-discipline laboratories.

Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Michelle Litvin

The transparent east side opens up and flows into the quadrangle by way of an arcade that creates a north-south pedestrian path with views into an open gallery and atrium space. A roof terrace overlooking the quadrangle is located on the top floor of the east side.

Putting innovation on display is a central aim of the design. Layers of full-glass walls create feelings of openness and a vibrant buzz of activity. At the campus scale, a 210-foot long mesh media display acts as an outward manifestation of the technologically-enabled innovation taking place within the building.

Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer

The façade creates an impactful digital canvas while still enabling light to penetrate the exterior, allowing views into and out of the center, and acting as a shading device.

The Watt Family Innovation Center will enable students to pursue ideas from concept to reality by using 21st Century technology and facilitating interdisciplinary collaboration within an inspiring space.

Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer


Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer


Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Jonathan Hillyer
Watt Family Innovation Center
© Michelle Litvin


Watt Family Innovation Center
Diagrams
Watt Family Innovation Center
Site Plans and Diagrams


Watt Family Innovation Center
Site Plan
Watt Family Innovation Center
Upper Floor Plans


Watt Family Innovation Center
Site Section
Watt Family Innovation Center
Elevation
Watt Family Innovation Center
Section

Perkins & Will
T +1 212 2517000 F +1 212 2517111
Perkins & Will
1250 Broadway Suite 200, New York, NY 10001, United States