Higher Education

Western Michigan University's new College of Engineering and Applied Sciences Research Building has been designed and engineered by HarleyEllis of Southfield, Mich. in collaboration with design consultant Rossetti Architects of Birmingham, Mich. It houses teaching, lab, and support spaces for the College's six departments. The $56-million, 350,000-sf facility is situated within the University's newly developed Business-Technology Research Park in Kalamazoo. The building is designed with three wings radiating from a central 'hub' that houses lecture halls and common areas.

Drew University commissioned Philadelphia-based A/E firm, Ewing Cole Cherry Brott to provide programming and schematic design services for the renovation and expansion of Seminary Hall, built in 1898. The building is the focal point of the Theological School. By renovating the existing structure and constructing a new addition, the new building program totaling 34,000 sf will include provisions for accessibility throughout the building, a large chapel space, seminar rooms, additional classrooms, preaching space, faculty offices, study/commuter lounge, and commons area.

The University of Pennsylvania has selected construction management firm R.M. Shoemaker Co. of West Conshohocken, Pa., to build Steinhardt Hall, the new Hillel Jewish Student Life Center on the campus of the University. Groundbreaking was scheduled for October 2001. The three-story, 35,000-sf facility will provide a new academic, cultural, and religious complex for the more than 6,000 Jewish students at the University. It will contain a kosher kitchen and 386-seat kosher dining room, a 320-seat auditorium, and a 174-seat Beit Midrash.

 The University of North Carolina-Charlotte has selected Perkins & Will to design a $23.1 million, 70,000-sf graduate research complex at the new Charlotte Institute for Technology Innovation; construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2002. A $26.1 million, 103,000-sf general classroom facility, designed by LS3P, will also commence construction at the same time.

The University of North Carolina-Charlotte began construction in July 2001 on a new 184,000-sf, $33.2-million Science and Technology building, part of a seven-building expansion of the 1.2 million-sf campus to a total of 2 million sf. At build-out, enrollment is expected to increase from the current 17,000 students to 25,000 students.

 Tufts University's Jeharis Familly Center for Biomedical and Nutrition Research is under construction at the University's Boston campus.  The $65 million, 175,000-sf structure will house the School of Nutrition and Science Policy as well as biomedical research space. Completion is anticipated in summer of 2002. Architectural Resources Cambridge, Inc., of Cambridge, designed the building. Tufts has a $9 million psychology building under construction at its Medford campus. The 35,000-sf facility is slated for completion in fall 2001.

The University of Texas is renovating and expanding three buildings at its main campus in Austin. The $40 million project will involve Benedict, Mezes, and Batts halls, linking the structures with new construction and modernizing existing classrooms. The new Austin office of 3D/I is in charge of the project, which is slated for completion in approximately two years.

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has selected Atlanta-based Lord, Aeck & Sargent to provide architectural services for the renovation of the Medical School’s Burnett-Womack Clinical Sciences Building. The company will serve as consultant to Newcomb & Boyd Engineers for the $25-million renovation, which will focus on upgrading the facility to current lab planning standards as well as creating a large, open lab to promote interdisciplinary research among departments.

Dartmouth College is renovating and expanding its campus science facilities. The 270,000-sf, multi-phased project, designed by Centerbrook Architects of Centerbrook, Ct., and managed by Boston-based George B.H. Macomber Company, provides state-of-the-art research and teaching facilities for a four-building complex including Steele Laboratory, Wilder Laboratory, and Fairchild Tower and the Fairchild Building. Steele Laboratory will undergo complete internal renovations and a new mechanical penthouse will be added.

The University of Evansville’s Koch Center for Engineering and Science  33,0000-sf addition was recently completed by Holabird & Root of Chicago. The addition creates a new façade and new atrium for the building. The final phase of the project will bring a complete renovation of the existing Center and will house teaching and research labs, faculty offices, and support spaces. Completion is scheduled for spring 2002.

Catholic University of America has begun construction on the Edward J. Przybyla University Center—a $25.6-million, 102,000-sf facility housing a 1,000-seat ballroom, an atrium lounge, six meeting rooms, campus bookstore and information center, food court, and outdoor campus commons. Completion is anticipated in 2003. The general contractor is Clark Construction. The civil engineer is Dulles-based Alpha Corp.

 Ave Maria College's new 328,000-sf campus will be located within the Domino's Farms office complex in Ann Arbor. HarleyEllis of Detroit has completed schematic design for the campus, which will include a 176,000-sf, five-story Academic Building with classrooms, labs, exercise facilities, offices, and library; a 9,000-sf chapel; a 22,000-sf commons building; and 121,000-sf for student housing--four buildings that will accommodate 295 students.

 Harvard Medical School broke ground in February 2001 on a new $250 million collaborative biomedical research facility designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge.  The 430,000-gsf facility will be shared by Harvard Medical School basic science departments and collaborative tenants from Harvard’s affiliate institutions. To enhance interdisciplinary research, the facility has been designed with faculty members doing related work in adjacent labs and sharing core facilities.

 The University of Connecticut’s ocean-front Avery Point campus on Long Island Sound recently dedicated the University’s new Marine Sciences building. The 140,000-sf structure, designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative of Glastonbury, Conn., contains research and teaching labs (including four “clean” chemistry labs), support facilities, offices, conference and seminar spaces, saltwater fluid dynamics labs, computer labs, and classrooms.