KU’s new Earth, Energy and Environment Center, the university’s new home for geology and petroleum engineering, features two lecture halls, a virtual reality cave and plenty of spaces for lab work and conferences.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A 45-foot-long replica of a fossilized mosasaur hangs in the atrium of the new Earth, Energy and Environment Center at the University of Kansas and over glass-enclosed “floating” meeting rooms and collaborative nooks for students and faculty offering views of Allen Fieldhouse and KU’s Central District.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The Beren Petroleum Center, located inside KU's new Earth, Energy and Environment Center, will be a 232-seat auditorium envisioned for lectures and use by industry professionals for small conferences.

photo by: Mike Yoder

An enclosed pedestrian bridge and an underground tunnel link the Earth, Energy and Environment Center to Learned Hall on the west — that bridge spans Naismith Drive. The EEEC is planted in the middle of what used to be parking lots and a popular pass-through for students walking from Jayhawk Boulevard to Allen Fieldhouse or other Central District spots.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Looking outside a second-floor window of the new Earth, Energy and Environment Center at KU, Robert Goldstein, a distinguished professor and special adviser for campus development, overlooks a southwestern view of KU’s Central District and points out the terra cotta exterior paneling tinted, textured and arranged in patterns inspired by the layers of rock found beneath the surface of the state.

photo by: Mike Yoder

A view north from Slawson Hall shows the glass exterior of Ritchie Hall, left, reflecting nearby Lindley Hall. At bottom right is an exterior garden area that contains a collection of rock specimens from around North America. Large boulders will be planted throughout the landscaping.

photo by: Joanna Hlavacek

The EEEC, a 141,000-square-foot project, will bring several geology labs and classrooms currently spread across Lindley, Nichols and Moore halls and the Multidisciplinary Research Building under one roof. Joining them will be related chemical and petroleum engineering spaces, namely those related to the oil and gas industry. The EEEC’s design features lots of glass, atriums and collaboration spaces envisioned for students, faculty and industry professionals to come together.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Robert Goldstein, a distinguished professor and special adviser for campus development at the University of Kansas, discusses the 162-seat Dixon Auditorium in Ritchie Hall in the EEEC, pictured at right and a floor below, that will be an engaged learning environment with students seated at large round tables with built-in computers for student collaboration during class. The center will open for classes in January.