Auburn University opens 151,000-square-foot classroom and lab building

Auburn University in Auburn, Ala., has opened the Academic Classroom and Laboratory Complex (ACLC), a 151,000-square-foot facility that can accommodate up to 2,000 students at a time.

With more than 30 classrooms and laboratories available, ACLC stands second to only Haley Center in total classroom space on Auburn’s more than 2,100-acre campus.

The facility’s laboratories are equipped with numerous work stations and preparatory lab spaces that include refrigeration units, HVAC systems and safety showers. Designed as flexible teaching spaces, the rooms offer dual functionality as both laboratory or classroom instruction areas.

The building also includes more than 12,000 square feet of space for informal learning, study and breakout work for students.

The facility also is the new home for the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning, a resource for Auburn faculty that “engages, supports and empowers the university’s academic community in each phase of the scholarly teaching transformative learning process.”

The ACLC’s design incorporates sustainable elements, including more than 22,000 board feet of heritage wood harvested from 21 pine trees removed from the site.

The three-story building is equipped with multiple elevators, is fully ADA compliant and provides an additional tornado and storm shelter to the campus.