Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/62215
Technology Walkers Welcome at Georgia Tech's 'Technology Square' The Georgia Institute of Technology recently opened Technology Square, a new $180 million multibuilding complex on its Atlanta campus. The largest portion of Technology Square— 189,000 square feet—is the new home to Georgia Tech's DuPree College of Management. Across the street is Centergy Center, a 486,993-square-foot office building featuring Georgia Tech's Advanced Technology Development Center, an incubator for high-tech business startups. Together, Technology Square and Centergy Center are designed to be the catalyst for a high-tech corridor in Atlanta. The new facility will allow DuPree to integrate advanced tech- nology throughout the curriculum. Common classroom activities now include interactive polls, electronic discussions, access to network resources, and video conferencing. The building features a high-speed digital and wireless network, smart podiums, multimedia and distance learning equipment, and white- boards that can electronically save and archive content. The expansive space of the new facility translates into greater capabil- ity for the school, says Terry Blum, DuPree's dean. "Our greatest excite- ment is not for the new building itself, but about the opportunity it offers," says Blum. "It will allow us to expand our imaginations that have been locked away for lack of space." In addition to its classrooms, computer labs, and e-learning facilities, Technology Square and Centergy Center also have incorpo- rated something a bit unexpected into their high-tech design: attention to the needs of pedestrians and the surrounding community. As a result, the new development recently was recognized by Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety (PEDS) as one of the most pedestrian- friendly develop- ments in the city of Atlanta. The facility D ATA B I T Technology Square's public courtyard. Technology Square's pedestrian-friendly walkways. 50 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2003 incorporates first- floor retail and restaurant space, a publicly accessi- ble courtyard, on-street parking, wide sidewalks, and pedestrian crosswalks. Because of Georgia Tech's metropolitan location, it was crucial that the new development meld the campus community with the metropolitan community, say school representatives. To this end, Technology Square also houses the Center for Quality Growth and Regional Development, a research facility dedicated to Atlanta's metro area; the Economic Development Institute, an organization dedicated to Georgia's business development; and the 252-room Georgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center. According to a study by the Business Software Alliance and IDC, a research firm in Framingham, Massachu - setts, decreasing software piracy to a rate of 30 per- cent worldwide could cre- ate 1.5 million jobs, add $400 billion to the global economy, and generate $64 billion in taxes, money that could be used for education or health care. Currently, 40 percent of software is pirated worldwide.