The new downtown Stamford Campus will open this week, positioning the University as a major presence in downtown Stamford. The 243,000-square foot building, originally home to a Bloomingdale's department store, is a state-of-the-art facility.

Designed by the firm of Perkins Eastman Architects, the facility is intended to create a vibrant collegiate environment integrated into the downtown at Washington Boulevard and Broad Street. Its address is One University Place.

The three-story glass concourse, which will open April 1, is 40-feet high and 140 feet in length - the longest glass wall of this architectural style in the United States. From all three levels, natural light penetrates through the glass into public spaces, uniting the University and the community. Lights from the concourse create a dramatic visual effect during evening hours, when the building will be busiest.

The learning areas of the building are among the best in the nation. Located on the third floor is a state-of-the-art computer center with seating for approximately 100 students throughout the four-room suite. The center holds 10 times more students than the old Scofieldtown Road campus center.

The two-story library holds more than 70,000 volumes and is two-and-a-half times the size of the old library. The glass-enclosed reading room overlooks the concourse and Broad Street on the second level. Internal staircases and elevators help students access the library while providing security for the research collection.

State-of-the-art classrooms, some equipped for distance learning, are located on all three levels. In the Connecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI) classrooms, located on the first floor, students can take notes from lectures at computer terminals built into the desks. Adjacent to these classrooms is the Master's of Business Administration area, also with classrooms and offices equipped for computer access.

Science labs are located on both the second and third levels of the campus. The biology teaching laboratory can accommodate 24 students per lab section, compared to 16 per section at the old campus. It is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities for growing and handling cultures of living micro-organisms, and for efficiency in preparation and breakdown of lab demonstrations. The lab has computer workstations linked to the Internet and is equipped for multimedia lectures and presentations by the lab instructor.

In addition, the Perkin-Elmer Corp. has donated one of its thermal cyclers to the laboratory. This instrument will enable the biology faculty to introduce into the laboratory curriculum PCR/DNA amplification, one of the most important tools of modern molecular biology. The campus also has a smaller 12-student lab for advanced courses in biology and marine science.

The new facilities Q among the most modern teaching laboratories in the country Q allow an expansion of marine aquaculture and biotechnology, both critical technologies for Connecticut.

The campus also features a conference center with two auditoriums and a cafeteria that will be open to the public.

Pamela Julius