Higher Education

St. Olaf College's new 190,000-sf facility--the Buntrock Commons Campus Center--has completed the design phase. The architect is Sasaki Associates Inc., based in Watertown, Mass.

Wheelock College, a 112-year-old private liberal arts college, is doing a complete $20 million renovation of its classroom building and adding both classroom and faculty office space to its activities building. For further expansion, the college also will buy Hebrew College's nearby Brookline campus, which includes a small classroom facility and a Guilded Age mansion. Hebrew College will relocate to a new $26 million, seven-acre campus currently under construction in Newton, Mass., next fall.

The National Fire and Protection Agency (NFPA) has partnered with Western Fire Chiefs Association (WFCA) and the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to build a set of Consensus Codes--a new set of codes for the built environment. Their goal is to provide safety officials with a new consistent and compatible set of codes by the year 2003. As part of the Consensus Code project NFPA also plans to devise a NFPA Building Code.

The Ohio State University in Columbus plans to begin construction in September 2001 on the $45,000,000 Robinson Laboratory, a four-story, 235,000-gsf structure for the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The building will house 95,000 nsf of lab and lab support space. Research Facilities Design of San Diego was recently selected as the laboratory building design consultant. The architect is Baxter Hodell Donnelly Preston of Cincinnati.

National University is building a new 40,000-sf central library at its campus in Kearny Mesa at the San Diego Spectrum business park. Dubbed a "cybrary", the cyber-library will be hard-wired for instant retrievel of multimedia, and will provide access to databases, E-books, E-journals, and other Web-based resources. The facility will also accommodate 250,000 volumes of traditional books and periodicals.

Middlebury, VT - Middlebury College's Bicentennial Hall was just awarded "Lab of the Year" by R&D Magazine. The 108,000 GSF building is home to offices for six departments--psychology, physics, geology, geography, chemistry and biochemistry, and biology.

National University is building a new 40,000-sf central library at its campus in Kearny Mesa at the San Diego Spectrum business park. Dubbed a "cybrary", the cyber-library will be hard-wired for instant retrieval of multimedia, and will provide access to databases, electronic books and journals, and other Web-based resources. The facility will also accommodate 250,000 volumes of traditional books and periodicals.

Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio has completed construction of the 60,000-sf Sister Anne Sueltenfuss Library, a three-story Gothic structure incorporating state-of-the-art telecommunications and instructional technologies. Classrooms, computer labs, meeting rooms, and offices are located on the first floor. Reading stacks, checkout desk, offices, and a conference room occupy the second floor. Special collections are located in the third floor. T.M. "Team" Davis Construction, Ltd. is the builder

University of California, Santa Barbara, broke ground in April on the Donald Bren School of Environmental Science and Management. The 84,672-sf structure will provide space for programs in Applied and Quantitative Ecology, Earth Systems Sciences, Environmental Engineering, Environmental Microbiology and Toxicology, and Environmental Policy and Resource Management. It will include faculty and administrative offices, research and teaching labs, and conference and seminar rooms. Completion is scheduled for 2002.

Ecole de technologie superieure (ETS), one of Canada's leading engineering schools specializing in application and engineering technology, is teaming with Johnson Controls Inc. of Milwaukee to jointly teach building automation control. The university has designated 1,750 sf of classroom and lab space as a Johnson Controls Institute where ETS students and Johnson Controls customers and employees will be trained on the most current HVAC equipment, energy consumption control products, facility management systems and control applications.

University of California, San Francisco's Board of Regents approved plans for the second and third buildings at its new Mission Bay campus. The $58 million Campus Community Center, designed by Legoretta Arquitectos in Mexico City, is a 158,000-gsf structure that will serve as the hub of UCSF services for students, faculty, staff, and the general public. MBT Architecture of San Francisco will work with Legorreta on the facility.

University of Connecticut has begun construction of a 7,150-sf Visitor's Center at its main campus in Storrs, Conn. The $1.9 million facility will accommodate campus exhibits, staff offices, meeting rooms and a catering kitchen. Architects  Flad & Associates of Stamford, Conn., and Madison, are providing architectural design and interior design. MEP engineering and structural engineering are being provided by BVH Engineers of Bloomfield, Conn. The construction manager is BB&E of Bloomfield.

Quinsigamond Community College is planning to build a 54,000-sf Learning Resource Center at its Worcester, Mass., campus that will include a 23,000-sf library, a cyber cafe, and a tutorial center. Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, Architecture and Engineering, P.C. (EYP) of Boston is designing the structure, which is scheduled to begin construction in September 2001. The Center will be wired for data and computer technologies throughout the building, and will accommodate Internet and Intranet access, with the flexibility to accommodate emerging technologies.

Santa Fe Christian Schools in Solana Beach has plans for a $2.5 million, 14,800-sf technology center and library to serve its 750 students. HMC Architects has designed the center with six computer teaching labs, several research stations, and laptop interfaces. Distance learning, with access to video-conferencing and interactive educational instruction, will be provided in one dedicated lab. The center will provide high-speed Internet connection, with sophisticated filtering software blocking inappropriate material.

General Services Administration (GSA) is planning a new $35 million, 215,000-sf facility in Washington for the Office of Student Financial Assistance, a Department of Education division. Groundbreaking is scheduled for May 2000, with occupancy anticipated by October 2001. Greenbaum & Rose of Washington is the developer for the project. The general contractor is  Centex Construction of Fairfax, Va.