When a group of Upstate innovators gathered to discuss their facilities needs, they realized they wanted more than a building. To reach their goals, they needed a space where other innovators were busy exploring and sharing new ideas. Together they crafted the NEXT Innovation Center—a place where a community could thrive, a place built to stimulate collaboration.

The tenants’ spirit of collaboration is reflected in the variety of gathering places throughout the Center. There are six conference rooms on the upper level and two on the lower. The walls between the ones on the upper level are moveable to accommodate meetings from a handful to forty or more.

Surrounding each office are impromptu meet-up areas where you can gather to “bounce an idea off” a fellow innovator. And since not all collaboration is all about business, you can take advantage of two Nintendo Wii rooms for intense competition and thought-provoking dialogue.

Even getting a cup of coffee is likely to lead to stimulating discussion—the community café is conveniently located and thoroughly equipped for robust conversation.

Anywhere you walk in the Center, you can take advantage of being in the middle of a community of thinkers, creators, business builders, by stopping to sketch out ideas, challenges, or whatever your next-thing is, on the walls. We’ve covered most walls with writeable surface material, so it’s easy to make your thinking visible, and to include your neighbors in the discussion.