HGA Architects and Engineers has announced plans for a three-story, 91,000-square-foot Science and Innovation building at California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson.  The $82-million facility held an official groundbreaking late last month, and is expected to begin construction this fall.

The project, funded in part by a $4-million gift from the Toyota USA Foundatio, will serve as the new home of CSUDH's physics, biology and chemistry programs.  It will also include a maker space fabrication lab, which will be supported by outdoor workspaces.

HGA designed the low-rise structure with a skewed level design, driven in part by the long, narrow development site.  Plans call for steel-frame construction, with bi-folding doors that expand workshops and open into outdoor spaces - including a roof deck.

CSUDH is targeting LEED Gold Certification for the project, and will employ recycled building materials such as aluminum componsite and limestone plaster.  Its facade will include alternating patches of blue and gray, with a "decoded DNA strand" embedded through panels.