Computing and Data Science building opens its doors

Published Jan. 26, 2025, 9:14 p.m., last updated Jan. 29, 2025, 4:33 p.m.

What does an ideal computer science building at Stanford look like? For Benji Welner ’27, it looks a lot like the newest addition to Stanford’s campus — the almost finished Computing and Data Science complex, known as CoDa. 

The building’s designers “are doing all sorts of weird things, and they really all work,” said Welner, one of several students to already take advantage of the building’s study space. 

Built with the goal of catalyzing interdisciplinary work between the School of Engineering and the School of Humanities and Sciences, CoDa has been five years in the making. Architects began working on the project in 2019 and construction took place from 2022 to 2024. CoDa will now house the popular computer science (CS) major, both data science majors — the B.S. and the B.A. — and the symbolic systems major, along with research labs and space for collaborative work. Faculty began moving into the building just last week on Jan. 21, and the building is now open to Stanford affiliates.

Chris Mentzel M.S. ’15, the executive director of Stanford Data Science, is hopeful that the design of the building will help foster interdepartmental collaboration. “The design of the building has people from different departments on every floor. It has a lot of meeting areas and it has a lot of open public spaces,” said Mentzel. 

Stanford Data Science, not to be confused with the data science program that grants undergraduate degrees, is a research unit under the Vice Provost and Dean of Research. Their mission, according to their website, involves connecting data science discoveries with other labs and institutions on campus to “enable data-driven discovery at scale.” 

Stanford Data Science previously borrowed space in Wallenberg Hall. It is now one of many programs that will now be housed in the CoDa. Excited to have a home base, Mentzel and the rest of Stanford Data Science have already moved into their offices on the other side of Jane Stanford Way. 

Mentzel is particularly excited about the central set of red staircases, which resemble a double helix. 

“That stairwell actually is connected to the kitchens and open public seating for everyone on the Stanford campus to come and enjoy on all four floors — so there’s kind of natural places for people to be and connect, even for people who aren’t occupants of the building,” he said.

The design process for the CoDa complex was thorough and collaborative, according to Kevin Manalili, Director of Facilities and Planning for the School of Engineering.

“We involved focus groups of faculty, staff and students to help define the desired look and feel, with a mix of offices, meeting rooms, community spaces and large classrooms,” Manalili said. 

Manalili acknowledged that the project had its challenges, including being “interrupted by the pandemic, last-minute vendor changes and supply-chain shortages.”

“It required lots of time and effort, but we worked extremely well together,” he said.

In addition to its interdisciplinary focus, the CoDa complex balances a focus on research with a focus on students. Manalili noted that the garden level on the ground floor will be mostly undergraduate focused, with classrooms, group rooms for TA office hours and flexible indoor and outdoor work spaces. The upper floors will serve as workspaces for the research initiatives housed in the building. Bridging the two, the first floor will house administrative services for many undergraduate majors and a new coffee shop, Voyager Craft Coffee. For Manalili, “CoDa provides much needed collaboration spaces and room for department growth.”

Voyager Craft Coffee is new to Stanford’s campus, although they already have a location at neighboring Santa Clara University. Menu items include traditional drinks and pastries, as well as signature dishes such as avocado hummus toast and a “pull-apart-uffin” monkey bread muffin. 

Mentzel hopes the coffee shop will be a draw for students and faculty alike. 

“You need good coffee if you’re going to have community, just the fuel that keeps people talking and connected,” he said. 

In addition to a new coffee spot, students can look forward to comfortable chairs, monitor and video conference capability, natural lighting and a modern feel. 

“I’m not an architect or an architecture major,” Welner said, “but there’s art that is part of the building in a very natural way and that makes each piece playful and entertaining in its own right.” 

Though the building is still undergoing final touches, and Voyager coffee will not move in until February, students have already begun taking advantage of the space. Sparsely populated for the time being, students believe the CoDa complex is poised to become a favored study hub. 

“There’s tons of rooms and I’m really excited for when this eventually becomes popularized. I anticipate spending a lot of time here,” Welner said.



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