The trustees of Kent State University have approved a ten-year campus master plan that represents an investment of $1 billion over the next decade. Enhancing the iconic Front Campus, the three-phase project will create healthy living-learning environments connected by a walkable campus core linking purpose-built classrooms, labs, and studios.
Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has mandated that Building Information Modeling (BIM) be implemented in the final phase of its $9 billion construction program. LACCD, which is the largest community college district in the United States and comprises nine colleges, is also targeting net-zero energy consumption in the sustainable development of its extensive portfolio.
What the university needs: A spacious, modern science building, with an additional 5,000 sf. What the university has: An old, dark, rather cramped classroom building, built for a different era in education, with inadequate systems, and no room to expand. It’s a common problem on university campuses, and in many cases solving it requires flexibility, creativity, and patience. At the University of Pittsburgh, Howard Skoke, AIA, of EwingCole Architects and Engineers and the university’s own Ilona Beresford worked together on a six-month master plan to devise a $65 million modernization. The project, scheduled to begin construction in May 2019, will open the building to new uses and adapt its systems for health and efficiency. At the same time, it will preserve a historic exterior and cost far less than a new building.
Del Mar College is creating the Southside Campus in Corpus Christi, Texas. Representing an investment of $93 million, the first phase of construction will include:
Gensler provided architectural services for the initial campus master plan.
Canadian Nuclear Laboratories began construction in February of 2018 on three new facilities in Chalk River, Ontario. Representing an investment of over CAD$100 million, the project includes:
A traditional master plan process runs the risk of being an exercise in futility if the result is a document that sits on a shelf and becomes quickly outdated. This often happens because an institution does not know how to convert existing data into meaningful information that can guide discussions and decision-making related to facilities and campus development. Pairing the intelligent use of available data with design processes that engage individual users and stakeholders’ perspectives can be a game-changer. This combination—what we refer to as a “living” master plan—can tell a more accurate story and become a better and more refined decision-support tool than an obsolete master plan or a one-time data analysis report, and can provide value based on real-time data long after the plan is “completed.”
The University of Illinois at Chicago broke ground on a $100 million mixed-use living and learning complex in January of 2018. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the project includes a 10-story undergraduate residence hall and a two-story academic building.
University College Birmingham broke ground in January of 2018 on a £29 million teaching and sports science facility in the United Kingdom. Accommodating both graduate and undergraduate programs, the four-story, 91,500-sf building will provide eight classrooms, three 100-seat lecture halls, faculty and staff offices, and flexible learning spaces. The facility will feature a spacious dining area, an advanced gymnasium, and a 115-ft indoor running track for performance and speed assessments.
Prism Capital Partners is engaged in the redevelopment of the former Hoffmann-La Roche site in New Jersey to create the ON3 campus. Providing integrated research, office, and recreational facilities, the mixed-use campus currently houses a 73,000-sf laboratory building partially leased by biofabrication firm Modern Meadow, with plans for the construction of an adjacent pilot manufacturing plant under way.
Purdue University broke ground in January of 2018 on an $86 million apartment complex in West Lafayette, Ind. Providing 835 beds, the three-building, 387,000-sf project will be built by a joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Walsh Construction, and Smoot Construction. Completion is expected by August of 2019.
The University of Central Florida and Valencia College are partnering with Creative Village Development to create a 68-acre mixed-use campus in downtown Orlando. The project includes:
Harvard University is planning to develop the 900,000-sf Enterprise Research Campus in the Allston district of Boston. The 36-acre project will provide teaching, research, and residential facilities in a mixed-use setting that will include business incubators, space for private companies and nonprofits, and public green areas. The first phase of development will create 400,000 sf of office and lab space, 250,000 sf of rental housing, and 250,000 sf of conference and hotel space on a 14-acre site.
The University of Notre Dame opened Campus Crossroads in fall of 2017 in Notre Dame, Ind. The $400 million project included the construction of three buildings adjacent to Notre Dame Stadium: O’Neill Hall, Corbett Family Hall, and Duncan Student Center. The project provides over 800,000 sf of classrooms, labs, meeting rooms, event venues, and performance spaces designed for integration with game-day activities at the renovated stadium.
Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the second quarter of 2017. Key points include:
The University of California, San Diego will begin construction in summer of 2018 on the $608 million Living and Learning Neighborhood at North Torrey Pines in San Diego. The design-build project team includes HKS as lead architect and architect of record, working in collaboration with Clark Construction, associate design firm Safdie Rabines Architects, and landscape architect OJB.
