Covestro Waterborne Polyurethane Floor Coating Technology Aids in Beautiful Design and Sustainable Future at the Energy Innovation Center

Formerly known as the Connelley Technical Institute, the 80 year old Historic Landmark that is situated in the Hill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh is reinventing itself as a center for innovation and a sustainable future. Built in 1930, the Connelley Technical Institute was a Great Depression-era workforce development facility where students learned basic trades such as carpentry, plumbing and automotive mechanics. Years after its closing in 2004, Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation collaborated with other corporations, research universities, economic development organizations, and the U.S. DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory to redesign the 208,000-square-foot space into the Energy Innovation Center (EIC). This mega-center for knowledge and development will hold hundreds of students in 28 apprentice programs, along with five Pittsburgh universities, numerous nonprofits and businesses, a co-working space, design lab, and plenty more in the works. The basement alone will house a 9,500-square-foot Community Kitchen facility to engineer new ways to make high volumes of food using fewer chemicals, electricity, paper and gas.