The building creates a prominent entry point for the campus, welcoming visitors as they arrive from the east, complementing the campus’ natural flow, and establishing a new district. The first facility in Purdue’s new Engineering and Polytechnic Gateway Complex, Dudley Hall and Lambertus Hall is one of the largest academic buildings on campus.
Much care was given to the architecture to ensure that the building was appropriate for the sensitive campus setting. Its simple brick forms blend with the surrounding context while its terracotta-shaded curtainwall offers a highly engineered contemporary take on the historic fabric.
The design team was challenged to bring together multiple disciplines and departments into one building while fostering an environment of open collaboration and research excellence. In addition to state-of-the art multidisciplinary research labs, the facility houses interdisciplinary instructional space, design studios for senior and capstone projects, collaborative space supporting active learning, an entire floor of student support spaces, and over 200 faculty and administrative offices. Built for flexibility, the building includes several massive lab spaces that can support to-scale learning experiences ranging from manufacturing production lines to home and commercial construction projects, and from powertrain technology development to human integration processes.
