Fitchburg State University, Game Design Studio + IDEALAB

Fitchburg, Massachusetts

Firm

ICON Architecture

Client

Fitchburg State University

Area

7,500 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$3,275,000

Completion Date

11/2018

Anthony Crisafulli Photography

[close]

Fitchburg State University’s Game Design major is the first of its kind in a public institution in the Northeast. The Game Design Studio and ideaLAB are part of a multiphase redevelopment of the historic 1929 Main Street Theater block. Situated in downtown Fitchburg, the original theater block included a two-story commercial building and a 1,700-seat vaudeville movie house.

The theater is being renovated by the university and ICON Architecture to serve as a 1,200-seat performing arts center and university venue. The second floor of the commercial building is now home to senior game designers as they develop their professional capstone projects. The flexible space has workstations for up to 30 students and includes a game-testing lounge, kitchenette, and two conference rooms.

The studio features a student-designed 11-foot-by-118-foot ceiling mural. The kitchenette and large conference room are shared with the ideaLab, a business incubator for the the university and the Fitchburg community.