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EYP Celebrates Groundbreaking of George Mason University’s Fuse at Mason Square

EYP Celebrates Groundbreaking of George Mason University’s Fuse at Mason Square

WASHINGTON, D.C. – EYP was a proud participant in the official groundbreaking ceremony for George Mason University’s Fuse at Mason Square on Weds., April 6.

Fuse at Mason Square will be a 345,000-square-foot facility conceived and designed to inspire 15,000 computer science and engineering graduates in the next two decades, as part of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s Tech Talent Investment Program. Mason is the largest producer of computing graduates in Virginia.

Dedicated to creating the next generation of Northern Virginia’s technology workforce, Fuse at Mason Square will house graduate-level education and interdisciplinary research in a broad range of programs, including computing, artificial intelligence, data analytics, and cyber security, among others.

“Transparency, openness, and connectivity drove development of the design intended to physically and visually welcome students, educators, entrepreneurs, industry partners, and the community,” said Robert McClure, AIA, NCARB, EYP’s innovation & strategy principal.

Each floor will offer a loft-lab or deep lab block with column-free structural bays that meet educational, and workplace needs by accommodating large classrooms, labs, and open and private offices. A Specialty Lab core — located on multiple floors — will provide a centralized resource of advanced research spaces.

Conceived as a series of vertical neighborhoods stacked throughout the structure, Fuse at Mason Square’s design creates a “Main Street” or collaboration spine on each floor with a wide pathway that encourages spontaneous connections between students and industry partners. Cross-pollination zones support a mixing bowl approach to programming — intentionally interweaving George Mason programs with partners’ spaces on every floor — encouraging connection and collaboration.

“This space is designed to inspire effective intellectual collisions,” said McClure.

Mason Square, formerly known as Mason’s Arlington campus, will help transform the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor and establish it as the top tech-talent pipeline in Virginia. Creating a marquee environment for George Mason University and industry partners, Fuse at Mason Square boasts open spaces filled with daylight and access to outdoor areas at multiple levels. From the inside out and the outside in, students will discover dynamic learning, research, innovation space, bolstering George Mason University’s efforts to recruit and retain the best and brightest.