The Media Production Center, the college's first new-construction building in its 120-year history, is now open! The 35,500-square-foot facility, designed by Studio Gang Architects, provides adaptable, state-of-the-art facilities including two film production soundstages, a motion-capture studio, digital labs, animating suites, a fabrication shop, and classrooms.

The MPC is the first educational facility of its kind anywhere, designed from the ground up to foster cross-disciplinary collaboration, a manifestation of the innovative model of arts and media education that the college has been developing for years. "I've always thought that one of our guiding principles is the collaborative nature of our disciplines," says Doreen Bartoni, dean of the School of Media Arts. "At the end of the day, the building is the container in which our philosophy of education, to have students 'author the culture of their times,' can really take root."

Environmental sustainability is important to the college, which will apply for LEED certification for the MPC. Architect Jeanne Gang applied green solutions to the project, such as having over 50 percent of the roof planted with vegetation. This green roof and other measures reduce energy consumption, mitigate the urban heat island effect, and contribute to the responsible stewardship of resources.

The MPC ushers in a new era of media arts education at Columbia College Chicago, described by President Warrick L. Carter, Ph. D., as "one of the most important moments in Columbia's history."