Gannon University has selected Indovina Associates Architects of Pittsburgh as theagency that will design the Great Lakes Research and Education Center in Blasco Library.
“We are pleased to partner with Indovina Associates Architects as momentum for the Great Lakes Research and Education Center continues. This is a significant step forward to begin visualizing the future of the space in collaboration with the architects, Gannon and Erie community,” said Sarah Ewing, Ph.D., provost and vice president of student experience. “We are aware of the opposing opinions and respect others’ viewpoints and have met with many of them and will continue to engage. We have an executed contract with the county, and we are moving forward with our plan for the research and education center. We believe this will be a project everyone will appreciate in time.
Among the reasons Indovina was selected was its record of completing award-winning projects at the Pittsburgh Zoo and PPG Aquarium.
The Great Lakes Research and Education Center will include exhibit space, a laboratory to support water research and water resource sustainability, and a NOAA Science on a Sphere in a 3,280-square-foot space at the 90,000-square-foot Blasco Library.
The design phase is expected to take a few months and will include opportunities for the public to engage with the project, helping to define what it will look like and how it will function inside the library. The timing of these public sessions will be announced in March or early April.
The Great Lakes Research and Education Center, which should be completed in early 2025, is part of Gannon’s $24 million Project NePTWNE, a water sustainability initiative the university launched two years ago.
Another piece of this project is also taking shape at the corner of West Fourth and Myrtle streets, where a greenhouse is being assembled as part of Gannon’s partnership with the Regional Science Consortium. That greenhouse, which should be completed in April or early May, will be used to grow native plants for Presque Isle State Park as part of a project to replace invasive species and restore the park’s flora.
