ECE Building
PROVIDES SPACE FOR HIGH-TECH LEARNING AND COLLABORATION
The ECE Building, located at 306 N. Wright St., Urbana, is nearly twice the size of the department‘s former home, Everitt Laboratory. At 230,000 square feet, the new building has more than 20 lab spaces intended for student instruction and learning. These labs continue the Illinois ECE tradition of hands-on learning, especially on cutting-edge topics like nanofabrication, optics, control, and robotics.
In the Open Projects Lab, students have access to state-of-the-art equipment for use in non-classroom projects. Students can pursue their passions, innovating and experimenting, in this unique maker-space.
The building gives students and faculty members access to many collaborative spaces, including a grand lobby filled with seating and multiple conference rooms. Graduate students are also sharing large, open workspaces, which allow for communication among those in different research areas.
The Electrical and Computer Engineering Building
FIRST ZERO ENERGY CERTIFIED FACILITY
The ECE Building was designed to be one of the largest net-zero energy buildings of its kind in the country, and includes countless features to help meet that goal. It achieved LEED Platinum certification in 2019. In February 2023, the ECE Building became the university's first zero energy certified facility. All of the operational energy associated with the building is offset through a combination of on-site solar production and solar renewable energy credits (SRECs), which earned the 238,000 gross square foot facility official Zero Energy (ZE) Certification from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI).
Solar arrays on the building’s roof provide about 11 percent of its energy, with the rest supported through SRECs from Solar Farm 2.0, an installation on south campus bordering the Village of Savoy. The building also features several passive heating and cooling features, including a distinctive terracotta exterior and sun shades. A chilled-beam heating and cooling system is also incredibly energy-efficient.
The building’s fourth-floor Advanced Power Applications Lab allows faculty members and graduate students roof access to conduct research with the building’s solar panels.
$95 MILLION PROJECT
This project began in the fall of 2011 and was dedicated Oct. 10, 2014. The State of Illinois paid for half of this project. Donations from private and corporate donors will make up the other half. Fundraising continues, and is close to meeting the ECE Building Campaign goal.
Texas Instruments, Intel, the Caterpillar Foundation, and many other donors have supported the ECE Building, and it features 15 named or donor-supported spaces. Many naming opportunities still exist.