WS Chronicle

 This MAKERSPACE lab features items printed on a 3D printer at the Center for Design Innovation. (Photo submitted)

By Mayeesa Mitchell

For The Chronicle

Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, home of SciTech Institute and Bailey Park, welcomed a new tenant that is dedicated to creative expression, technology expansion and scientific discovery to the community last week.

The Center for Design Innovation (CDI), now located at 450 Design Ave., moved into its new 24,000-square-foot facility in the spring and held its public grand opening on Wednesday, Sept. 23.

Designed with the assistance of CDI’s founding partners – Winston-Salem State University, Forsyth Technical Community College and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts – the facility will be open to all members of the community who want to learn, conduct research and experiment with technology.

“CDI is as much campus-facing as community-facing, with forums and projects scaled 10-fold with spaces and tools to allow the community to take their ideas further,” said Executive Director Pamela Jennings.

Funded through the University of North Carolina system, the three-story, modern, flexible facility houses millions of dollars worth of equipment within multiple design studios, MAKER labs, a multi-purpose activity floor, a digital manufacturing shop, a data center and The CUBE.

The CUBE is a three-story, windowless cement room that can be used for research, design projects, workshops and classes.

“It is almost all digital,” said systems architect Richard Phillips.

Its digital technology includes a slow-motion camera that can be used for scientific research to view things “too fast to see but too important not to” and 3D scanning equipment that replaces traditional blueprints by providing high resolution, globally accessible measurements, according to Phillips.

Although all the programming has not been specified yet, CDI hopes to design programs for lifelong learners and children.

CDI will also continue to work with its founding partners by expanding the number of classes taught at their facility and providing co-curricular activities for the students. Center officials also plan to collaborate on projects across multiple institutions of higher learning in the Triad area.

Now that CDI has a permanent location, officials are looking forward to expanding their programming and opening their doors to the community.

CDI is open to the public from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Free parking is available. For more information visit cdiunc.org.