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This paper describes a ten-year long technical and social experiment in our department to build a laboratory that designs and fabricates microelectronic systems in support of research in computer architecture. This experiment has been fairly successful by several measures: We have built and demonstrated a number of systems, some of significant size and complexity, spanning a fairly wide range of approaches and applications. We have validated the laboratory's original premise, demonstrating economics of scale by sharing a system building facility over multiple projects. Most importantly, we have fielded experimental systems on a long term, maintainable basis. Our Microelectronic Systems Laboratory (MSL) may serve as a useful model for others who want to develop system-building capability in a university setting.