Georgia Institute of Technology

Christopher W. Klaus Advanced Computing Building

Atlanta, Georgia

This 414,000 square-foot building houses Georgia Tech's most advanced research labs for the College of Computing and Electrical and Computing Engineering. The building also includes undergraduate learning spaces that serve a highly innovative, interdisciplinary curriculum for the College of Computing.

The Klaus Building is a campus landmark – connecting a major pedestrian cross-axis with Technology Square, and providing a gateway into the shared Computer Science and Engineering Quadrangle. The three-story atrium is a focal point for the science and engineering community, with a grand glass staircase and wall of windows overlooking the courtyard and the center of campus. An elevated pedestrian link passes through the center of the building connecting to sister buildings, strengthening the academic community. The bridge's exterior laminated glass walls include translucent binary code graphics with the name of the new building.

The interdisciplinary teaching/research environment provides cutting-edge facilities and technologies – for robotics, supercomputing, information security, advanced digital design, computer architecture and operating systems. Specific program elements include: 70 laboratories, eight computer class labs,five large classrooms with distance-learning capabilities, study lounges, faculty offices and a 200-seat auditorium. A three-story parking deck beneath the facility holds 550 vehicles.

Over 50 percent of the six-acre site is preserved as green space. A site storm water filtration and collection system provides water for irrigation. Daylight harvesting, progressively dimmed indirect lighting, energy efficient gearless elevators, and HVAC energy recovery systems contribute to a building that uses 40 percent less energy than allowed by standard energy codes.