CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) – The University of Illinois’ Champaign-Urbana campus has broken ground on a $48 million design center.
The (Champaign) News-Gazette reports the Siebel Center for Design will have tools students will need to complete design projects that center director Rachel Switzky says high-tech firms are seeking. That includes 3-D printers, water-jet cutters, computer-controlled machining and virtual reality technology.
The groundbreaking was Tuesday and the 59,000-square-foot center is expected to open in 2020. It’s possible through UI graduate Tom Siebel, who founded two software firms and donated $25 million to the project.
The center will have five studios that can house up to 400 students, a studio for large-scale construction and prototyping and an open-space workshop, along with meeting rooms and galleries.
