FAMU SAET Opens Upgraded Fab Lab to Inspire Design Innovation

Florida A&M University’s School of Architecture and Engineering Technology (SAET) unveiled its upgraded Digital Fabrication Lab, The Kaizen Collab, to further inspire design innovation and creativity on campus.

Located on the second floor of the Walter L. Smith Architecture Building, the revamped facility includes a new $50,000 laser cutter all paid for with funding from Jacobs, a national architecture firm who has signed a three-year partnership with SAET.

“The FAMU School of Architecture and Engineering Technology takes great pride in nurturing the next generation of architects. Our undergraduate and graduate programs strive to instill the creative vision, technical expertise, and ethical values necessary to tackle today’s architectural world’s complex challenges. We can meet some of our goals in a classroom, but others require industry partners like Jacobs,” said SAET Dean Andrew Chin. Completing the fourth wing of the Walter L. Smith Building marks a significant milestone for the SAET, Chin said.  “This state-of-the-art facility represents a leap forward in our commitment to innovation and excellence in architectural education,” Chin added.

“The three-year commitment is the most significant gift ever awarded to the School,” he added.

SAET is also equipped with a variety of prototyping equipment, such as a computer numerical control (CNC) router, 3D printer, laser cutter, hand tools, etc., in its 4,600-square-foot Wood and Metal Shop, a 1312-square-foot Digital Fabrication laboratory and a 1,620-square-foot Virtual Reality (VR) and Mechatronics laboratory.

The labs are mostly used for extra-curricular learning, while they can be used for design-focused STEM curricula and community workshops. The refurbished lab was unveiled several weeks after the University opened the STREAM Innovation Fab Lab in the College of Education.

Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost Allyson Watson, Ph.D., who has championed innovation and creativity initiatives, welcomed the new addition.

 “This new digital fabrication lab in the School of Architecture and Engineering Technology marks a very significant milestone in our journey towards innovation and excellence in education. This fabrication lab is very special,” said Watson, who expressed gratitude for the leadership of Dean Chin and the SAET faculty.  

The unveiling was attended by a delegation of Jacobs executives, including Katus Watson, senior vice president and general manager, Americas West.

“I am thrilled to be sharing this celebration with you,” Watson told the gathering about Jacobs employees’ effort to promote diversity and equity goals.  “It’s a great pleasure to have the opportunity to give back because so many people have poured into me throughout my professional and my personal journey.”

 

The Kaizen Collab is a concept centered around continuous improvement through collective transformation, Watson said.

“It resonates with the architectural design process and the history of the very building that the school is housed in by fostering a culture of continuous learning and adaptation that encourages experimentation, exploration and the pursuit of new groundbreaking solutions,” Watson continued.

 

Among the other Jacobs executives attending were: Leticia Solaun, global principal for Communications and Engagement; Jaynelle Pemberton, mentor Protege Programs lead; Jess Glen, client account manager of  the Tallahassee Office; Steve Wakeman, division vice president and Global Design principal; Audley Lindo, architectural designer; and Tiombe Parrish, Federal Sustainability Community of Practice lead.