[boris1020]

Our team has been through four build spaces in six years, and this one (our new and permanent one) is by far our favorite. Our school district passed a bond issue two years ago that allowed for the wrestling facilities at one of the schools be renovated to robotics spaces for all three high schools. At first we were skeptical about being in a wrestling room, but it has worked out really nicely.

Some of the aspects we like about it:
-It's small. We aren't cramped, but everything is nearby and there's
enough space for machines and division of spaces. It also keeps us from buying
more stuff just to fill it up. When we all meet in one area at once, it starts getting
crowded, which is probably a pretty good size.
-There were no walls. We acquired district surplus shelves as a partition
between shop and office space. We even put down carpet in the office.
-It's air-conditioned!
-The structure is exposed- no ceilings. This allowed us to run speakers
throughout the shop for music. We also speculated hanging a projector.
-Garage door! Most mobile equipment doesn't fit through the front door.
-We have space for a 3/4-ish sized field. It isn't in the same building, but
it's still available.

Things to request:
-Good electrical. Our entire office/CAD area (8 computers plus laptops
and coffeemakers) is all on one breaker- blown fuses have happened.
-Tall ceilings. As a reference, our Logomotion minibot pole only fits in the
highest part of the shop (sloped ceiling/roof).
-Try to make shop as versatile as possible. While definition of space is good,
make sure you can rearrange shop tables for brief robot testing
-WHITEBOARDS. No matter how many whiteboards are floating around, we will
always run out of drawing space.

Best of luck to you in coming years, I hope you enjoy your new space.