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The four-story, 43,800-square-foot Shiley-Marcos Center for Design & Innovation is now open at the University of Portland. The building overlooks the western portion of the Willamette River at the university鈥檚 main campus, at 5000 N. Willamette Blvd.

Construction of the $40 million project finished earlier this month. Crews performed an extensive renovation of the former Physical Plant building鈥檚 concrete foundation, retaining walls, and concrete structural elements to create the Shiley-Marcos Center. The new Physical Plant was built on a separate brownfield at the campus.

The project team includes architect Opsis Architecture; structural engineer KPFF; civil engineer Humber Design Group; signage and graphics designer Mayer/Reed; landscape architect PLACE; and general contractor Skanska USA Building. Also, Research Facilities Design of San Diego contributed to the project.

The building includes invention/innovation/ideation labs, learning pods, industry collaboratives and maker spaces.

鈥淗ere on the bluff, we鈥檙e committed to providing transformational, hands-on education that blends art and science, faith and reason, and service and leadership,鈥� University of Portland President Robert Kelly stated. 鈥淭his new building will allow us to elevate this commitment to new heights.鈥�

Major design and construction themes included adaptive reuse, innovation as an outcome of interdisciplinary collaboration, exposing building systems as a learning tool, and creating an inspiring place for exploration and innovation, the University of Portland and Skanska USA Building stated in a joint press release.

鈥淭he complexity of the site grade to the location nestled among other important campus facilities brought opportunities that challenged us to build something never before created,鈥� stated Joe Schneider, a Skanska senior vice president and account manager. 鈥淲e brought this innovation center to life by using innovative building principles that prioritized sustainability.鈥�

The university鈥檚 aim is for the center to be a beacon of discovery and a leading learning environment to grow the engineering and creative learning of present and future generations.

Each building level holds invention, discovery and testing spaces. Level 1 includes a propulsion and combustion lab with three testing cells, two adaptable project labs, and industry partner labs. Level 2 includes shop spaces for project fabrication and manufacturing as well as open study areas, instructional space, and a 1,200-square-foot space for industry partners. Level 3 includes a digital lab with an audio and video studio, an ideation lab, a pilot project space/classroom, and open study and collaborative meeting space. Level 4 features two design, drawing and art-making studios with an art gallery, a kitchenette and open study space.

A Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold rating will be sought for the center, which holds the campus鈥� first solar array (43.6 kilowatts); it鈥檚 expected to produce at least 24 percent of the energy used by the center. Cross-laminated timber forms the structure as well as the inside ceiling. Gases expelled from the test labs will be ventilated and then repurposed for radiant building heating. Expansive windows optimize daylight to curtail energy use. Site restoration ensured new sewer filling stations were installed to support the center and four surrounding buildings, the press release states.

The project team broke ground on the center in 2022. The lead $10 million donation came from Darlene Marcos Shiley. Her late husband, Donald P. Shiley, is the engineer and innovator for whom the Shiley School of Engineering is named.