Discovery through science with application through engineering are side-by-side in Seattle University’s new Center for Science and Innovation (CSI). Here, students think about possibilities, make connections, and act for the good of the community. Linked with the university’s Bannan Center for Science and Engineering, the CSI is the future of STEM for Seattle University.

On CSI’s street level, makerspaces hum with robotics and 3D printers. Engineering students share ideas while waiting in line for lattes. Soon, they’ll meet with mentors from Amazon or Microsoft in high-tech huddle rooms. You’ll also find computer science students working in corporate-style spaces where teams take a hoteling approach, using available tables for workspace and lockers for storage.

The top four floors are packed with biology and chemistry classrooms and research labs. Featuring laboratory planning for the 21st century, the CSI showcases sliding glass doors that seamlessly connect teaching and research spaces. Sharing is simpler through a common door, so this innovative configuration offers increased space on demand and reduces instrumentation and staffing costs. While they’re in class, undergraduate biology and chemistry students can sneak peeks at research happening right next door.

Creating connections across campus and a dynamic public concourse, the CSI offers amenities like the café, coffee shop, and radio station for all to share. A large classroom on the first floor serves as an academic space by day and university activities room by night. Plus, there’s an event area on the second floor for dining and fundraising activities. A good neighbor to the community, the CSI also is home to the Center for Community Engagement — the Seattle University Youth Initiative supporting local children and their families.

The CSI is more than stone, steel, and glass. It’s the heart of Seattle University.

Mithun was the local/executive architect.