Capital Strategies

Project Background

Berkeley Engineering is committed to providing students with an enriching and transformative educational experience that fosters innovation, entrepreneurship, inclusion, and collaboration. The new Grimes Engineering Center is unlike any other campus building, situated at the location of the existing Bechtel Engineering Center and overlooking Memorial Glade.

Encasing the Bechtel Center, the new building adds 35,500 square feet of space across two new floors. It serves as a hub to support students' growth and passion for driving innovation and positive change. The center offers convenient access to various programs that contribute to students' success, including academic advising, career services, tutoring, social events, and flagship entrepreneurship activities.

Designed with an open and light-filled layout, the center provides students with a welcoming place to gather and collaborate, showcases the vibrancy of Berkeley Engineering. It reinforces the inclusive, team-oriented culture of Berkeley Engineering.

One of the Grimes Engineering Center's key objectives is to promote cross-campus collaboration and inspire innovation and entrepreneurship. With four floors dedicated entirely to student space, it aims to foster an environment that encourages visionary ideas capable of transforming the world.

Funded entirely by philanthropy, construction of the new Grimes Engineering Center commenced in the summer of 2023.  Completed in May 2025, the center will play a crucial role in enhancing the Berkeley Engineering student experience.