Higher Education

San Diego State University plans to redevelop 131 acres surrounding its campus with the $14.3 million, 1.4-acre Fraternity Row, a Greek housing model composed of eight free-standing chapter houses surrounding a four-story, 62-unit apartment complex. Fraternities may own or lease the  2,278-sf to 4,360-sf houses, which provide a private backyard courtyard, a multipurpose room, chapter room, food/prep kitchen area, unisex bathrooms, computer/study room, offices, and residential suites.

 The University of Pennsylvania Riverview Campus master plan was completed in April 2001 by Cambridge, Mass.-based Tsoi/Kobus & Associates. The 20-acre Philadelphia Civic Center site will be transformed into a mixed-use healthcare and research center serving the needs of the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania.

 The University of California, San Francisco's new 43-acre research campus at Mission Bay is under construction. Phase one includes a 385,000-sf research building; a 165,000-sf center for human genetics, developmental biology, and developmental neuroscience; and a campus community center sporting food courts, a health club and pool, and a library'all scheduled to open by 2003. The developer of the huge project is Catellus.

University of Kentucky-Lexington's new Biomedical/Biological Sciences Research Building is currently in the schematic design phase. The 200,000-sf building is scheduled for occupancy in 2004. HERA, Inc., of St. Louis, is providing lab planning, programming, and design services for the facility. A.M. Kinney, of Cincinnati, is the prime architect and engineer, and Philadelphia-based Venturi Scott Brown Associates is the design architect.

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.