44 Two years after breaking ground, Bar-Ilan completed construction of the new Alexander Grass Department of Computer Science Building, home to the future innovations that will advance Israel’s security and prosperity. And also, hopes computer scientist and Deputy President Prof. Moshe Lewenstein, home away from home for the department’s students. “A computer science degree is incredibly intense. Students spend long days and lots of nights studying—the experience is all-consuming,” Lewenstein says. “So when we designed the new department’s building, we wanted to create a holistic space that would function as a complete living and learning ecosystem.” The result is a structure whose features and design elements combine to advance the goals of comfort, collaboration, and creativity, beginning with the building’s centerpiece: the Innovation Hub. An L-shaped space in the lobby lined with galleries for individual study, the hub includes 10 rooms whose seating can be configured according to group and project needs. In addition, all dividing walls are glass, to encourage students to interact with others and feel part of the departmental community. The first floor also includes a café, a courtyard, a kitchenette and dining area, and an auditorium for lectures and events. The upper floors contain researchers’ and graduate students’ offices, but again, points out Lewenstein, there’s a twist: “The offices are all mixed in together, without the usual separation by hierarchy. We wanted everyone in the department to feel that they’re working toward the same purpose, and also to make sure that everyone meets and speaks with everyone else,” he says. “Computer science is a field that thrives on cooperation, and we were determined to get people out of their comfort zones and into communicationwith colleagues.” Once they’re out of their offices, he adds, they canmeet in one of the upper floors’ numerous “brainstorming spots”: spaces open to the corridor that sport bean bags, sofas, and a wallWhere the Future Takes Place The Alexander Grass Computer Science Building
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