The Gates & Hillman Centers

An Alumnus Perspective

By: Steven C. Price (A'78), Board Member, The Andrew Carnegie Society

What an exciting moment for Carnegie Mellon! The Gates & Hillman Centers, unified in both design and location, were dedicated this month to serve as new centers for innovation—creating fresh opportunities for students and faculty to work together and interact, improving the physical appearance and functionality of campus, and establishing a new home for computer science at Carnegie Mellon.

When you first catch a glimpse of these new buildings you are struck not only by the physical differences from the rest of the campus, but by the way it has been integrated into the campus landscape. The result is a building that fits; like it was in the plans all along.

The building and the change it will deliver to those that use it can only truly be understood by being there. The floating staircases, the central core with the ramps circling and embracing classrooms, and even the shape of the doors, lead the visitor to the conclusion that every aspect has a purpose well beyond shelter from the elements. There is a clear sense that the space will inspire both individual and collaborative advances leading the inhabitants into the unknown, where advances in fields yet to be discovered can be made.

Just as the element in the exterior panels, Zinc, has multiple uses in many sciences, what happens behind the paneled walls of the Gates & Hillman Centers will change the inhabitants there and the greater community beyond. Carnegie Mellon and all of us connected to it will be made better by the gifts of these marvelous buildings. Come, experience them for yourself.

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