A large hallway with windows on the right and people standing and talking
Civic Lounge within Social Lab on the ground floor of Life-Long Learning (LLL) building.
A large room with tables and people talking on the left side and more tables and people sitting on the right side
Assembly & Prefunction Space within Social Lab on the second second floor of Life-Long Learning (LLL) building.
A large room with several chairs and tables where people socialize or study
Assembly Space within Social Lab on the second floor of Life-Long Learning (LLL) building.

The Social Lab

  • by Travis Sheridan

A key part of activation and engagement within the Aggie Square Innovation District (what Wexford refers to as a Knowledge Community) is the access to space that can be used for curated programming, community-related convenings, impromptu meetings, and just general moments of serendipitous collisions. Covering part of the first and second floors in the Life Long Learning Building (LLL) is the Social Lab.

The idea of Social Lab is rooted in the following eight driving beliefs:  

  1. Knowledge Communities should be living laboratories.
  2. Innovation is a process to improve the human condition.
  3. Everyone (researchers, faculty, industry, entrepreneurs, students, community members, artists, etc.) can participate
    as Community Scientists.
  4. We want to create a culture of experimentation.
  5. Innovation, a its core, is generally a social experiment and iterative process.
  6. Collaboration is the key to better outcomes – economic, technological, social, environmental, etc.
  7. Serendipitous Collisions should not be left to chance, but can be socially engineered.
  8. Belonging occurs when people feel like they’ve contributed to the community in some small way.ent

The ground floor of the Social Lab can be considered a Civic Lounge. In this space, there is drop-in/hang space, a board room that we call the jewel box, and a huddle space that serves as an intimate conversation corner, full of soft seating, library-style tables, and several spots to connect with others.

Just up the majestic staircase, or nearby elevators, the second floor of the Social Lab has more drop-in/hang space that serves as pre-function space to events, and a large assembly space that is perfect for larger gatherings. Imagine if the most comfortable living room and the most engaging classroom were combined in a way that allowed both extroverts and introverts to be comfortable and productive. That is the design intent of the assembly space within the Social Lab at Aggie Square. 

The idea behind Social Lab is to create a place where innovation-related programming can be held. Some of the programming will be produced by the Innovation Convener managing programming at Aggie Square, some will be cultivated from the broader Sacramento community and those organizations and groups looking for new way to engage their constituents or members, and some programming will consist of convenings focused on finding solutions for some of the region’s most pressing challenges. Social Lab can be seen as innovation infrastructure.

Social Lab will launch in March 2025 and be open during regular business hours (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.); however, extended access will occur during special programming or events. As part of the Community Benefits Partnership Agreement (CBPA), at least $1,000,000 worth of space will be made available to individuals, community groups and organizations on an annual basis in the form of facility discounts and/or sponsorship.

"Social Lab @ Aggie Square" by Travis Sheridan

Travis Sheridan is the Senior Vice President and Chief Community Officer at Wexford.