Located on campus near the M.D. Anderson Library, the Innovation Hub will span 78,000 square feet, according to a recent filing with the Texas Department of Licensing and Registration (TDLR). Construction is already underway with an expected completion date of early 2028.
First, crews will demolish the existing Technology Annex Building, including a covered connection to the north, clearing the way for the Innovation Hub and a future building, according to the filing. The Technology Annex dates back to 1941, according to the university’s website.
Fencing is in place onsite, and demolition of the old Annex is underway, with exterior limestone from the building salvaged and repurposed. The Innovation Hub will rise in its place, designed as a multi-disciplinary makerspace housing the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, the Energy Transition Institute and an advanced science and engineering laboratory space.
“We’re building this hub as a central, hands-on home for innovation at the University of Houston—a place where students will learn by doing and where ideas, expertise and opportunity converge,” Ramanan Krishnamoorti, vice president for energy and innovation at UH, told Chron in a statement on Wednesday.
The hub aims to bring together students, faculty, industry experts and entrepreneurs in one space, fostering collaboration, accelerating idea development and strengthening the talent pipeline for UH and broader Houston.
Krishnamoorti said the facility will “create a space for those unexpected collisions that spark new thinking, strengthen our talent pipeline and accelerate solutions to some of the most pressing challenges facing society.”
Canada-based Stantec is the architect behind the project and Vaughn Construction is handling project management.
“It’s designed to bring together the incredible talent already around us,” Krishnamoorti said.