The Webster Groves City Council, US, has stated that construction of Webster University’s Interdisciplinary Science Building (ISB) is scheduled to begin later this month.
Due to be completed next year, the new building will cover around 85,000ft² of space.
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Once completed, the new building will house the departments of Anthropology and Sociology, Biological Sciences, International Language and Cultures, Nurse Anesthesia, Nursing, Psychology and the Institute of Human Rights.
The ISB will include a total 25 laboratory classrooms, four classrooms, a dual computation laboratory/classroom, 51 faculty offices with six for adjunct faculty, 20 staff offices, and a 129 seat auditorium.
Ample commons areas throughout the building will be included for students and faculty to collaborate and organise study sessions.
The building is also expected to provide science, technology, engineering, arts, maths and medicine (STEAMM) programmes.
Webster University noted that various studies over the years have predicted an increase in jobs in the region that require employees to have STEAMM-related skills.
The entire project, including all the new equipment for the building, is valued at $44m.
Webster University provost senior vice-president and chief operating officer Julian Schuster said: "Construction of the Interdisciplinary Science Building has been a pinnacle of the University’s comprehensive master plan.
"The plan envisions a connected and attractive environment on the Webster Groves campus that embodies the global culture and character of the University."
Last September, the university hold a groundbreaking ceremony for the ISB and revealed the new design of the building, which includes a ‘L’ shaped structure to be built north of the East Academic Building (EAB).
In 2014, the university installed a new chiller plant in the lower level of the EAB to provide back-up cooling for EAB, ISB and other buildings to be renovated in future.
Image: A rendering of what the Interdisciplinary Science Building will look like once completed. Photo: courtesy of Webster University
