University of Southern California Baum Family Maker Space, Science & Engineering Library

Adjacency diagram for the USC Baum Family Maker Space, Science & Engineering Library.
With the push for more on-campus maker spaces and flexible workshop spaces that empower students to think beyond the ordinary, the USC Baum Family Maker Space is a home for analog and digital tinkering that encourages extraordinary thinking and doing. The project’s main goal—and primary challenge—was to identify viable options for integrating a state-of-the-art maker space into an existing building that will ultimately accommodate two entities with vastly different program and operational needs.
Previously spread across campus, the consolidation of student design and competition teams into a 10,000 square-foot multipurpose center for design, innovation, and hands-on fabrication will not only facilitate access to fabrication equipment and resources, but also encourage more awareness and collaboration across engineering disciplines. Located just off the main building lobby on the ground floor of the Science & Engineering Library, Baum features both advanced fabrication and traditional machining, wet lab, walk-in freezer for composites, outdoor workspaces for welding, painting, engine testing, and loading/unloading. Adjacent are several dedicated spaces for student-led design and competition teams to build everything from concrete canoes to rockets.