Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN
Bringing researchers to the front door of Purdue’s technology campus
The Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship was the first building completed in Purdue’s Discovery Park, a $450 million hub for interdisciplinary research for which Goody Clancy provided master planning. As the gateway and public face of Discovery Park, the new center provides meeting, incubator and R&D space for scientists, engineers, and technologists to collaborate with business entrepreneurs on commercial applications for university-sponsored research.
The Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship promotes the sharing of ideas and collaboration across disciplines and establishes precedents for future development at Discovery Park.
Blending traditional and contemporary materials, the design forms a bridge from main campus to the new research campus, asserting a strong modern vocabulary and presence. The site and building design invites visitors, researchers, and users from the main Purdue campus to easily identify the Discovery Park's 'front door.'
Interior space is programmed to fit a variety of high-tech, business-focused spaces, such as:
- Incubator space for scientists, engineers, and technologists to collaborate with business entrepreneurs on commercial applications for university-sponsored research
- Corporate-quality conference and meeting rooms designed to encourage interaction among those working in diverse technologies, across the university and in the public realm
- A central café, classrooms, breakout rooms, administrative offices, and small-scale common spaces shaped to encourage spontaneous, informal meetings
This project was sponsored by the Krannert School of Management, for which Goody Clancy designed their flagship building, Rawls Hall, and the Engineering and Life Science Departments.
