Higher Education

The University of Michigan will soon complete the renovation, restoration and rehabilitation of the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies Building. Built in the classical renaissance style in 1938, the facility houses Graduate Studies as well as hosting public and university events. The building contains two auditoriums, three study halls, three conference spaces, and galleries. Designed by SmithGroup, the $22.8-million renovation began in June of 2001 and is slated for completion in November 2002.

The University of California, Davis has recently completed construction of the new $57-million Robert and Margit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Built by contractor McCarthy, the facility is one of the largest university performing arts presentation venues in the country. Begun in May 2000, the 104,000-sf facility includes: the multilevel 1,800-seat Barbara K. and W.

PurdueUniversity is building the Burton D. Morgan Center, a 31,000-sf entrepreneurship center and incubator housing The Purdue Engineering Projects in Community Service, the New Venture Lab, the Innovation Realization Lab, and the Burton D. Morgan Entrepreneurial Competition. The project will include construction of a 72-seat lecture hall, a presentation room, and several conference and break-out rooms. The center will be used by multidisciplinary graduate and undergraduate students engaged in new product conceptualization, research marketing, and technological problem solving.

Purdue   Universityis developing the Bowen Civil High Performance Structures Lab, a large-scale laboratory for the Civil Engineering department.

Georgia Institute of Technology is building Technology Square, a 1,109,000-gsf mixed-use development at Midtown.

Eastern Illinois University has completed the restoration, renovation and addition to the 157,000-sf Booth Library. The $16,269,026 project was built by contractor Williams Brothers Construction  and include a 134,200-sf renovation and a 12,800-sf addition. Chicago architectural firm Holabird & Root designed the facility, which received the 2002 AIA Chicago Interior Architecture Award. Originally built in 1948, an addition in 1968 provided some space for growth.

Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta is building the 288,000-gsf Ford Motor Company Environmental Science & Technology Building. Designed by architects Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, and built by Archer Western Contractors, the building will house the College of Engineering, the College of Sciences, and the Advanced Technology Development Center. Construction of the $58-million laboratory and research facility began in August of 2002 and is slated for completion this October.

Purdue   University is renovating the historic 101-year old David C. Pfendler Hall, formerly the Agricultural and Entomology Hall. The project includes a 25,000-sf addition, with the interior and exterior of the existing structure to be renovated and restored in the Beaux-arts Neoclassical style. The facility will house administrative offices for the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources, the Agricultural Development Office, classrooms, research labs, and a 150-seat auditorium.

East High School in Williamsville, N.Y., worked with Trautman Associates of Buffalo and Lumen Power Sources, a representative of H.E. Williams, to upgrade the high school's lighting system.

The Georgia Institute of Technology is building the $23-million U.A. Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Building. Designed by Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK), the 90,000-sf research and educational facility began construction in April of 2002 and is slated for completion in July 2003. The building will house the Georgia Tech and Emory University Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering. Contractor for the project is Archer-Western Contractors, Ltd.  

Georgia Institute of Technology is renovating and expanding the J.S. Coon Building to provide a modern and accessible new home for the School of Psychology. The $9-million, 73,000-sf project includes complete environmental remediation and construction of an 11,000-sf addition and a 4,200-sf mezzanine in the former shop wing. Architect Jova Daniels Busby has completed 35% of the design of the facility, which began construction in October 2001 and is slated for completion in February 2003.

Colorado State University celebrated the completion of the $16-million Chemistry/Biological Sciences Instructional Labs on October 11. Designed by OZ Architecture, a firm with studios in Denver, Boulder, and Summit County, the 78,000-sf building forms a dramatic arched bridge connecting the existing Chemistry and Anatomy/Zoology buildings and acts as a new campus gateway.

PurdueUniversity is developing the 130,000-sf Jerry S. Rawls Hall, the centerpiece in the Krannert School of Management’s $55-million “Krannert at the Frontier” campaign. The four-story project will house electronically equipped classrooms, a professional career center, a multimedia-based auditorium, computer labs, distance learning facilities, and a reception area.

PurdueUniversity is renovating the Humanities, Social Sciences and Education Library, converting 60,000-sf to an advanced “Electronic Library”. The Walter and Saraellen Veon Electronic Reference Center, the centerpiece of the library, will contain a visitor service desk and a general study area housing 48 computers. The Center for Scholarly Communication will house electronic equipment to assist research and multimedia presentation. The main entry to the 18,000-sf ground floor will also be relocated. The facility is expected to open in February of 2003, with a grand re-opening in April.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Isenberg School of Management (ISOM) will celebrate the grand opening of the four-floor, 47,000-sf Harold Alfond Management Center on October 11. Designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge, the $11,800,000 center is a three-story expansion of the ISOM facility and will house 4 caserooms, a financing training room with Bloomberg connectivity, computer labs, teleconferencing facilities, breakout rooms and offices. Fontaine Brothers of Springfield, Mass. was the project contractor.