Industry News

Maui Community College's planned $26 million, 34,000-sf science building, designed by Design Partners of Honolulu, is targeted for LEED Gold certification-a real challenge, as some of the LEED criteria, such as using building materials obtained from within a few hundred miles, are impossible for the island location. The building will house eight separate laboratories, a lecture hall, a large foyer intended for exhibitions, and a small, separate observatory. "Green" features will include solar photovoltaic panels, rooftop wind turbines, skylights, and light wells.

The Engineering Department at Yamagata University is planning to begin construction in fall 2009 on a 6,000-square-meter research center in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture. The 1- to 2-billion yen facility will focus on research in organic electroluminescence-the use of organic material that emits light with the application of electric current, a process which consumes much less electricity compared to other forms of illumination. Anticipated applications of the process include use in cell phones and TV screens.

A Louisiana State University study published in The Southern Medical Journal concludes that greater use of stairs in buildings could help to solve the nation's weight problem. Staircases can be made a central feature of new buildings with the use of improved lighting, air conditioning, carpeting, painted walls, artwork, motivational signs, and even music to make using the stairs more attractive to building users.

Thanks to the slowdown in the construction industry, the new Health Sciences Building at Palomar College is expected to come in under the anticipated $10 million price tag originally estimated for the two-story, 25,000-sf facility. Nursing and dental programs will be consolidated in the new building, which will house labs, both specialized classrooms and five general-use classrooms, and simulator rooms equipped with instructor-controlled mannequins. Completion of construction is expected in June 2010.

Construction has finished at Temple University’s new $160 million state-of-the-art School of Medicine building. Ballinger of Philadelphia designed the 11-story, 480,000-sf facility to provide 100,000 sf for medical education,  160,000 sf for patient care research, and 249,000 sf of dedicated educational laboratories and research space.  The emphasis on interdisciplinary collaboration is exemplified by the Health Sciences Center library, cominbining the fields of medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, nursing, and the related health professions.