Higher Education

Western   Washington   University (WWU) is building a new 100,000-sf Student Recreation Center on its Bellingham campus. Groundbreaking for the facility, designed by Seattle firm BJSS/Duarte Bryant, took place in early March. The recreation center, slated for completion in fall of 2003, will house a three court gym, multi-activity court, six lane lap pool and sauna, weight and fitness training areas, elevated jogging track, and a rock climbing wall. WWU has also opened its new Campus Services Facility, which began construction in April of 2001.

PurdueUniversity is expanding the School of Chemical Engineering with a 96,000-sf addition. Part of the Purdue University Schools of Engineering Strategic Facilities Plan, the expansion includes an interactive multimedia learning center, a teaching lab for chemical engineering fundamentals, and an integrated lab complex for chemical and polymer engineering. The project will also house biomedical, catalysis and surface science research clusters. The addition is designed as flexible laboratory space to foster teamwork, interactive discussion and innovative research.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is developing Engineering Laboratory II, a $20,616,000 facility providing graduate research laboratories for the Chemical Engineering and Civil/Environmental Engineering Departments. As phase II of the Engineering and Computer Science Complex, the facility is being built just south of the project’s first phase, the Computer Science Building. Designed by Ellenzweig Associates and Whitney Atwood Norcross, the 60,000-sf building will feature a 45-seat distance learning center and a 195-seat auditorium.

American University will break ground in January 2003 on the $55-million, 130,000-sf Katzen Arts Center. Site preparation began in June for the center, which will house the university's art programs and will include a 30,000-sf gallery, a 200-seat recital hall, and a 500-space underground parking garage. General contractor for the project is Holder Construction. Additionally, American University began developing the Greenberg Theater in March.

San Jose City College is building the 80,000-sf Tech Center. The five-story classroom facility will offer career courses in computer technology, business, and dental and emergency medical technologies. Designed by BFGC Architects of Oakland, Calif., the center will house the Institute for Business Performance and a 200-seat conference center. The project is one of five buildings planned as part of the community college's five-year capital development program and is being built by Barry Swenson.

The University of Georgia Athletic Association opened the Rankin M. Smith Sr. Student Athlete Academic Center on October 12. The $6.7-million, 31,000-sf center houses a multimedia classroom, computer labs, writing center, tutoring rooms, counselor's office and a 250-seat lecture and meeting hall.

The Advanced Technology Center (ATC) at KellyUSA, part of the Alamo Community College District's Information Technology and Security Academy, houses 23,000-sf of classroom and computer lab facilities for training students in the aerospace and information technology industries.

The University of Georgia is planning to build a $10-million, 33,000-sf commercial pharmaceutical manufacturing facility at the University's Riverbend Research Village in Athens. Designed by Lockwood Green of Spartanburg, S.C., the project's construction will be managed by Atkins Hanscomb Faithful & Gould of Atlanta. The building will include research labs, classrooms, offices, and bioprocessing and manufacturing space for solid oral dosage medicines. The project is slated for groundbreaking in May 2003.

The University of Texas at San Antonio has leased 8,000 sf in Brooks Building 175 at Brooks Air Force Base to house a vaccine research training facility. Preparing molecular biologists, fermentation technicians, and genetic engineers to conduct vaccine-related research, the facility is slated to open by fall of 2003. The training center will accommodate both UTSA and military graduate and undergraduate students. City officials hope that the training facility will cause San Antonio to be chosen as the site of a proposed $1.5-billion national vaccine center.

Suffolk University is building a new dormitory in Boston's urban Beacon Hill area. Designed by Cannon Design, the facility will be constructed on an 8,700-sf former parking lot and will stand 19 stories above ground with two stories below ground. The west side of the structure will feature a glass curtainwall.

The University of California at San Francisco will complete the $22-million Genentech Hall next month. The hall is the first facility of the planned 20-building, 43-acre Mission Bay campus encompassing  2,650,000 sf of instructional, support, and biomedical lab facilities. Part of Catellus Development Corp.'s massive 303-acre project, the facility is ready for support staff occupancy as early as October and will see equipment moved in through the end of the year.

Emory University in Atlanta recently opened the Mathematics and Science Center, a $40-million, 138,000-sf facility featuring almost 33,000-sf of laboratory space. The project features a planetarium and a 180,000-sf auditorium. The center incorporates elements of sustainable design including use of natural light and rainwater harvesting.

North Carolina State University is planning a $35-million bioprocessing training facility on its Centennial Campus. The biotechnology manufacturing facility is part of a work-force training initiative aimed to develop the state's bioprocessing industry.  Additionally, UNC Hospitals is planning to build a $140-million cancer tower.

The University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill is constructing the 123,000-sf School of Public Health. The $39-million project, designed by Anshen & Allen Architects, is slated for completion in May of 2005. Contractor for the project is TA Loving, with engineering services provided by Stewart Engineering Inc.

Amherst College has selected Payette Associates of Boston to design a new 60,000-sf combined Geology Building and Natural History Museum. Sited on campus to initiate a redefinition of a major campus space, the facility will include state of the art teaching labs for both introductory and advanced instruction in the geological sciences. Students in these disciplines will have access to their own specialized research spaces, map rooms, a library, and a multidisciplinary GIS lab.