The client had a clear and audacious goal for this adaptive reuse project: create a suitable home for world-class collaborative design institute and engineering center in one of the oldest and most historic buildings in the heart of the campus. The design team met this challenge by stripping away multiple layers of ill conceived “improvements” inflicted upon the building over time, and inserting a modern, day lit atrium that helps recapture the original spatial and natural light qualities of this Richardsonian Romanesque structure. The renovation encompassed design studios, prototyping labs, shops, faculty offices with collaborative niches directly outside their doors, and interaction zones.