MUNCIE, Ind. - Ball State University's digital education initiative, known as iCommunication, moves closer to reality next week when work begins on new offices and laboratory facilities.

Oberle and Associates, a Richmond-based construction firm, will transform about 6,500 square feet of underutilized space in the Ball Communications Building into a digitally-based education and research center.

The project will create the Center for Media Design and the Digital Media Lab, as well as develop related offices and classrooms. Work should be completed in phases over the next six months at a cost of about $1.8 million, said Greg Graham, assistant director of facilities planning.

"This is on a very fast track considering we have only a few months to get the majority of the work done," Graham said. "Some of the renovations will be completed when students arrive in the fall. The entire project will be complete by the spring semester."

Funding for the project comes from a $20 million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. to develop iCommunication. The campus-wide initiative is designed to prepare Ball State students for high-tech careers in digital communications.

The Center for Media Design is at the core of iCommunication. The center is a research, development and teaching facility linking state of the art design technology to media and communications fields.

The center includes areas for three-dimensional animation technology and digitally produced entertainment and news. The facility also provides classrooms and labs for students studying media related fields and working in industry partnerships

MSKTD, an architectural firm in Fort Wayne, designed the new facilities. The company designed the Ball Communications Building in the 1980s.

Graham said the need for computer systems to handle large amounts of digital information played a major role in designing the new facilities.

"The architecture revolves around digital technology," Graham said. "We are putting in more fiber optic capabilities than ever before.

"We have also included a lot of open, adaptable space in the center," he said. "We need to be flexible to address the needs of people working in a rapidly evolving world of digital technology."

(NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information, contact Graham at ggraham@bsu.edu or (765) 285-2828.)