After more than 10 years of planning, $6 million spent and lengthy construction work, Howe Hall will fill up next week after the final safety checks on the building are done.

Although only professors and offices will occupy the building for now, students will pack the high-tech classrooms, auditorium and laboratories by next semester, said Associate Dean of Engineering David Holger.

“Our objective should be learning, not teaching. We tried to design the building with that in mind,” he said.

Holger said the new facility should help to promote multiple types of learning — not only lectures, but group work.

The high-tech classrooms will have built-in projectors that support multiple types of feeds, including computer and video. Holger said the idea is to try to make something flexible enough to adapt to new technology as it is developed. White boards and flexible seating also are part of the classrooms in order to induce more collaborative learning.

Holger said students need to learn to work together because they will not be sitting in lectures when they get jobs after graduation.

“When you graduate from an engineering program, it is expected you will be able to move pretty quickly into an engineering job,” he said.

Howe Hall will house the Virtual Reality Application Center (VRAC), the Center for Industrial Research and Service (CIRAS) and Engineering Distance Education (EDE). These three programs currently are located in Black Engineering, the Iowa State University Research Park and Engineering Annex.

Holger said being near these offices and research areas will expose students to current industrial practices.

Having CIRAS, the VRAC and EDE all together will more efficiently and effectively tie undergraduates with outreach, research and industry, Holger said.

“There will be a variety of engineering student connections with the building,” said Thomas Rudolphi, chairman and professor of aerospace engineering and engineering science mechanics.

Rudolphi said this is the first time his department will have all its offices in the same building.

“We will be able to relate to our colleagues by going across the hall,” he said. “Classes, meetings and staff will be closer and will make it easier for both faculty and students.”

Even though it will be a shorter walk to meetings, Howe Hall is not small. It’s nearly 100,000 square feet, making it more than twice as big as Town Engineering, Holger said.

“It’s not hard to see it’s a fairly impressive building,” Rudolphi said.

Inside the front door of Howe, an atrium extends up three floors, with a huge crane on the ceiling and a quote by Sir Isaac Newton displayed above the entrance.

After Howe Hall’s dedication on Oct. 23, some lab classes will be moved into the building, Holger said. Faculty and students are looking forward to moving into their new space.

“You get a certain sense of excitement about the newness [of the building],” Rudolphi said.

The completion of Howe Hall will end Phase I of the Engineering Teaching and Research Center. Phase II will start early next year with the removal of Engineering Annex, Exhibit Hall and Engineering Research Institute buildings.