In our State-of-the-Art Spaces series, we’ll show you academic spaces all over campus that boast unique features and technology that enhance learning, allow students to engage in hands-on experiences, and more. Get an inside look at Colorado State’s state-of-the-art spaces now.

The Industrial Sciences labs are where CSU Construction Management majors learn to operate machinery and tools, build and install everything from house frames to plumbing to electrical, and get hands-on experience in construction, equipment use, and beyond. The labs are housed in a red-bricked historic building, originally constructed in 1925, but has since been updated and expanded with the intention of both upgrading and preserving the original structure.

Within, you’ll find students learning metal fabrication, electrical system installations, structure design and construction, surveying, and more. The airy, open spaces of the structure house heavy machinery and testing equipment used in all kinds of construction, including welding equipment, power tools, cranes, electrical panels, asphalt mixing and testing equipment, concrete mixing and testing equipment, and soils testing equipment. At any given time, you might walk into the construction area and find students in various stages of a project; they work together as they build entire structures, such as fully functioning tiny houses.

As they progress through the major, students are taught the safety and proper usage of everything within the labs.  Materials Testing and Processing, Construction Layout, and Electrical Control Systems are just three of the classes that take place here throughout the academic year. Beyond the main construction areas of the building, you’ll also find two distinct learning spaces: the Kiewit Soils Lab, where classes like Soil Mechanics for Construction take place, and the Colorado Asphalt and Pavement Association Asphalt Lab, where the Asphalt Pavement Materials and Construction class meets.