Plans are under way for a new state-of-the-art building on Main Campus that will include teaching laboratories and research facilities for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Currently, a number of UTSA’s STEM-related spaces are spread out across campus.

One of the most unique features of the building is the magnitude of exterior and interior glass. Many laboratories will be surrounded in glass so students and visitors walking by can see what’s going on, a concept referred to as science on display. “The biology, chemistry, and engineering labs are going to be very visible,” says Paul Goodman, assistant vice president for facilities.

“Students with different majors will interact, so there’s a higher potential for people with different interests to connect. Some may discover a new passion.”

The building will be home to UTSA’s Brain Health Initiative and will feature a 17,000-square-foot engineering design, testing, and fabrication area as well as a two-story space for distillation columns, which will be used for the new chemical engineering program.

Utility work will begin this summer, and design plans will be finalized by fall with construction expected to begin in early 2018. The building should be complete in the summer of 2020 in time for use in the fall semester.