Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology

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Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology
Malachowsky Hall
General information
TypeEducational
LocationGainesville, Florida, United States
Construction started2020
Completed2023
Opened2023
Cost$150 million[4]
ClientUniversity of Florida Board of Trustees[1]
Design and construction
Architecture firmBohlin Cywinski Jackson
Walker Architects[1][2]
Structural engineerWalter P Moore[3]
Main contractorAjax Building Company[2]

The Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology, or simply Malachowsky Hall, is a building on the University of Florida (UF) campus. Named after UF alumnus and Nvidia co-founder Chris Malachowsky, the building began construction in 2020 and opened in November 2023.

It houses spaces for several of the university's colleges and departments including the College of Engineering, the College of Pharmacy, and College of Medicine, as well as the Informatics Institute, part of UF Research.[5][6][7]

History

Conception and construction

Malachowsky Hall came about as the university was undergoing major construction and renovation projects in the late-to-mid 2010s and early 2020s. In 2016, university officials introduced their "Strategic Development Plan", a "set of guiding documents that outlined how the university and the community would grow together over the next 50 years".[8] This plan's success led university officials to group their collection of plans into the "Strategic Campus Master Plan".[8]

Chris Malachowsky, the building's namesake is an alumnus of the university and after graduating, became a co-founder of Nvidia. A gift from Malachowsky, as well as state funding, helped anchor the cost for the building.[7] The initial building's project budget was $150 million.[4] The state provided $110 million of the budget, with the remainder coming from private and college funds.[9][10] Malachowsky collaborated with architects to design the building's façade.[9] The building was also announced during the university's initial endeavors to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) into curriculum.[7][11] Nvidia is a key partner of UF in the AI space;[7] in 2020, Malachowsky and the company gifted the university $60 million to fund HiPerGator, an AI supercomputer.[12]

The building's architecture was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, with the practice working closely with Ajax Building Company, structural engineer Walter P Moore, and N-RG Cladding, among others.[2][3] Construction on Malachowsky Hall began in December 2020,[7][13] though work on the panelized metal façade system occurred earlier that August.[1] Malachowsky has a unique look compared to other UF buildings, as its "metal paneled exterior differs from the rest of campus, containing none of the signature orange brick present in older buildings."[14] Indeed, the building features "origamilike creases [which] provide for some very idiosyncratic window shapes."[2] The design team "opted for a relatively straightforward cast-in-place flat slab concrete structural system". The building also has 1,500 panels with electrochromatic glazing sitting within them.[2] N-RG Cladding credited ELRO Manufacturing, KENPAT, and Architectural Glass Services as partners in the construction.[15] In September 2022, pipe conditions on campus were reported to have delayed construction.[4]

Opening

Located across Museum Road from the Reitz Union, the building was originally scheduled to open in March 2023,[4] though this was pushed back to April 2023.[7] The 263,440-square foot building officially opened on November 3, 2023.[16] The building's opening was commemorated through a livestreamed fireside chat event; Malachowsky and fellow Nvidia co-founder Jensen Huang, as well as UF President Ben Sasse, student leaders of various engineering student organizations, and others of the Gainesville community were among those present.[17] Forrest Masters, the interim Dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering, moderated the event.[17] Despite this grand opening event, the building was not yet completed at the time, with students locked out when attempting to access the building and the sixth and seventh floors still under construction.[14] The building is scheduled to be accessible for general students and faculty in the spring 2024 semester.[14]

A seven-story building, Malachowsky Hall is intended to serve as a multidisciplinary hub for STEM fields, particularly those relating to data science, information technology, and AI.[18][19] Electrical and computer engineering departments, as well as spaces for medicine and pharmacy are also housed in the building.[14] Malachowsky Hall also houses the coordinating center for the OneFlorida Clinical Research Consortium.[7] After the passing of the CHIPS and Science Act, leaders at UF launched the Florida Semiconductor Institute to facilitate chip research domestically. The Institute is housed at Malachowsky Hall.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "University of Florida Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology". Ajax Building Company. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e Marani, Matthew (January 17, 2022). "Malachowsky Hall deflects the Florida glare with an aluminum facade and electrochromatic glazing". The Architect's Newspaper. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  3. ^ a b "The Architect's Newspaper Peels Back the Curtain on the Facade Design Process for University of Florida's Malachowsky Hall". bcj.com. Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. January 20, 2022. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Harris, Peyton (September 12, 2022). "Part of Museum Road may open by October, multiple UF construction projects still underway". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  5. ^ "Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology". eng.ufl.edu. Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  6. ^ "Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology". pharmacy.ufl.edu. UF College of Pharmacy. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Cardinali, Emily (December 3, 2020). "UF to begin construction on Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology". news.ufl.edu. University of Florida. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  8. ^ a b Roldán Hernández, Cynthia (November 15, 2021). "A university on the move: UF's campus transformation". news.ufl.edu. University of Florida. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Lawson, Lillian (November 3, 2023). "New UF building to act as hub for artificial intelligence, data science". The Gainesville Sun. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  10. ^ Azhar, Ali (November 6, 2023). "NVIDIA CEO Hails New Data Science Facility As 'Starship of The Mind'". Datanami. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  11. ^ Bower, Jake (April 19, 2023). "Universities plan future of research around AI". WUFT. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  12. ^ "UF opens Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology". news.ufl.edu. University of Florida. November 3, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  13. ^ "University of Florida Building New Center for Data Science". Construction Equipment Guide. December 21, 2020. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d Gary, Alissa (November 7, 2023). "Malachowsky Hall to open in Spring". WUFT. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  15. ^ "N-RG Cladding's Post". N-RG Cladding. 2023. Retrieved January 30, 2024 – via LinkedIn.
  16. ^ Shanley, Garrett (November 6, 2023). "UF celebrates Malachowsky Hall's grand opening". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  17. ^ a b Lupien, Ronin (November 8, 2023). "A look into the opening of Malachowsky Hall: Laughter, discussions and tough questions". The Independent Florida Alligator. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Takahashi, Dean (November 3, 2023). "University of Florida opens $150M tech center with help from Nvidia cofounder Chris Malachowsky". VentureBeat. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  19. ^ "University of Florida opens $150 million facility for data science and information technology". American School & University. November 6, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  20. ^ Chase, Kristin (October 10, 2023). "UF leaders launch Florida Semiconductor Institute to expand domestic chip technology research". WCJB. Retrieved December 5, 2023.

Further reading

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