HERSHEY, Pa. – Penn State’s Board of Trustees Friday (March 16) approved the appointment of EYP Architecture and Engineering PC, of Albany, N.Y., as architects for the renovation of the Steidle Building in the historic core of the University Park campus.
The 86,000-square-foot-building, near the intersection of Burrowes and Pollock roads, was built in 1931 and serves as teaching and research space for the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences' (EMS) Department of Materials Science and Engineering.
The design team will reorganize new lab and office areas into suites called “research clusters” that are more open and conducive to an increasingly collaborative research environment. Renovations also will include updates to all utility systems to provide the infrastructure necessary for current and future materials science research.
“Half of the faculty located in the Steidle Building will reach retirement age in the next five years, “ said Gary L. Messing, head of the department. “Our ability to attract the best young faculty [with modern facilities] will have a long-lasting impact on whether we remain one of the best materials departments in the nation and the world.”
EYP Architecture and Engineering has proven expertise in updating infrastructure systems without interrupting ongoing research and in the renovation of historically significant buildings. This team will develop a schematic design, and the work will be phased and accomplished as funding is available for construction.