A New Building for the Future of Computing
About
At the UMass Amherst Manning College of Information and Computer Sciences (CICS), we are building a collaborative hub for the future of computing and the Commonwealth.
Located on the north side of campus and linked to the existing Computer Science Building, the 90,000-square-foot facility will bring together computer science students and faculty in classrooms, research labs, and community spaces designed to inspire creativity and collaboration in service of the common good. Designed by the architectural firm Perkins Eastman, the building is slated to open in the fall of 2025.
For sixty years, our community of problem-solvers and innovators has been at the forefront of revolutionary ideas in computing research and education—ideas that have fueled the Commonwealth’s innovation economy, expanded the field’s reach, and helped solve global-scale problems across disciplines. In that pioneering spirit, our goal is to create an integrated academic and research space that accommodates our rapid growth, serves as a destination for our community, and enables the next big ideas in computing and technology.
gross square feet
student commons for undergrad, master’s, and doctoral students
square foot makerspace
seat classroom
Connection
Welcoming, light-filled student commons, a café, and a variety of indoor and outdoor communal spaces will enable one-on-one and group interactions and connect students with resources for support.
Learning
A 240-seat lecture hall, two modern and flexible sixty-seat classrooms, and a fully equipped makerspace will provide state-of-the-art educational facilities for formal and informal learning.
Discovery
Purpose-built labs will set the stage for collaborative research and a cross-pollination of ideas, enabling our talented faculty and researchers to make new breakthroughs in foundational and applied computing.
Sustainability
With low-carbon Mass timber construction, on-site solar array, and a planned connection to a nearby geothermal well field, the building will prioritize low energy use, minimize the use of fossil fuels, and serve as a model for the UMass Carbon Zero initiative.
Watch the fly-through
In the spotlight
"With this new facility, we’ll be able to bring together our talented students, faculty, and staff in classrooms, labs, and communal spaces specially designed for computing education and research. This new, signature building for our college will enable our community to do more of the collaborative, high-impact, human-centered work that has been the hallmark of UMass Amherst computing for the past sixty years.”
Webcam of construction site
A bird's eye view of construction in real time