Skysong (Arizona State University)
 | |
| Type | Public |
|---|---|
| Established | 2008 |
| President | Michael M. Crow |
| Location | Scottsdale, Arizona, United States |
| Website | Skysong |
Skysong, located on a 42-acre (17 ha) center in Scottsdale, Arizona, is a robust platform that supports firms entering or expanding within the United States. ASU SkySong is an innovation center designed to help companies grow by providing business services and programs offered or facilitated by Arizona State University.[1]
ASU SkySong, established in January 2008, is Arizona's global knowledge portal offering a variety of in-house services to assist foreign firms enter the United States marketplace. These services include access to new technologies, capital networks, business education and a skilled workforce. In this highly collaborative environment, individual entrepreneurs, global enterprises, ASU students, faculty, staff and community members connect to bring new technologies and innovations to the local and global marketplace.
With its combination of resources from ASU, one of the largest research universities in the U.S., and the presence of multinational corporations and investors, SkySong attracts knowledge workers and corporations from around the world, creating working relationships that builds a greater ASU network between academia and commerce. Developing interactive relationships among mentors, suppliers, startup technology companies, subject experts, legal advisors and investors, SkySong is a business incubator focused on global growth.
Structure
SkySong sits at the intersection of Scottsdale and McDowell roads in southern Scottsdale, about three miles north of the ASU Tempe campus. The site was previously home to a major regional shopping center, Los Arcos Mall, from 1969 to 1999.
SkySong is a mixed-use project, eventually consisting of 1,200,000 square feet (110,000 m2) of office, research and retail space, and a hotel/conference center at full build-out. In addition to the commercial space, SkySong will include multi-family residential units. Currently, two 4-story buildings, each approximately 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2), frame the Eastern half of the east-west boulevard intersecting the center. Built with flexibility in mind, the buildings are designed to accommodate any tenant's space needs whether small start-up companies, expanding businesses or regional operations. The center has abundant and redundant power and robust bandwidth capabilities to integrate state-of-the-art digital infrastructure into flexible office and research space.
Anchored by an iconic 120-foot-tall (37 m) tensile shade structure designed by FTL Design Engineering Studio, the campus is built around a densely landscaped grand boulevard that will eventually be lined by ground-floor shops and restaurants with offices above. The shade structure is envisioned as a vital civic space surrounded by ethnic restaurants, cafes, bookstores and shops. The area beneath is not only the crossroad of the project but the symbolic center of global enterprise for the region.
The perimeter is landscaped with dense native vegetation, screening parking and creating inviting, open spaces. By adopting innovative and environmental programs into the construction, SkySong is the largest privately funded LEED certified project in Arizona.
Notes and references
Coordinates: 33°27′49.75″N 111°55′26.50″W / 33.4638194°N 111.9240278°W