The final touches are being put on the LSU Center for River Studies—an $18 million, 45,000-square-foot research and education facility that includes one of the world’s largest river models—at the Water Campus near downtown Baton Rouge.
But before it opens to the public next month, Business Report got a sneak peek at the new facility, which is featured in the current issue.
The centerpiece of the center—a partnership between LSU and the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority—is the Lower Mississippi River Physical Model, a 120-by-90-foot changing floor model of the lower river system, incorporating 179 miles from Donaldsonville to the Gulf of Mexico.
By running water and a silt-like substance through the 10,000-square-foot model, engineers and researchers can analyze the most pressing environmental issues. Twenty high-definition projectors illuminate the model to bring the river and coast to life.
“This state-of-the-art facility is a comprehensive, integrated physical modeling center that will serve both as a research hub for study of the lower Mississippi River and as an educational facility,” says CPRA Executive Director Michael Ellis. “This is a unique collaboration. CPRA is paying for all of the design, construction and construction management, and we will maintain ownership of what’s inside the building—the river model, the exhibits, and all audio/visual equipment—but we will donate the building itself to LSU.”
See a gallery of photos of the new facility. Send your comments to editor@businessreport.com.
