Higher Education

Harvard Medical School (HMS) has outsourced all engineering and trade functions for mechanical systems maintenance to UNICCO Service Company. Supported by an onsite 24x7 call center, the staff of almost 50, including electricians, mechanics, plumbers, carpenters and locksmiths maintains all building systems, including HVAC and utilities. UNICCO also handles light construction and special projects as required. The contract calls for UNICCO to provide several advanced services including:

The University of Massachusetts is planning a $222.5-million student housing project on its Boston campus. Construction of the first $91.5-million, 900-bed phase could begin as early as summer of 2003. An additional $131 million would fund four more dormitories housing 1,100 students which could be completed by 2012. UMass Boston, currently perceived as a commuter school, hopes to attract more traditional students with the expansion. The project will require funding from state bonds, which have not yet been secured. 

The University of Denver has contracted Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott in association with H & L Architects of Denver to design the new College of Law building, the nation's first certified "green" law school. The 190,000-sf, $50-million facility, located on the main campus at University Park, will meet the exacting standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.

The University of California, San Diego is opening the $37-million, 109,076-sf Powell-Focht Bioengineering Hall on its La Jolla campus in November. The privately funded facility was made possible by individual gifts of $17.2-million, $8-million, and $12-million. The building will accommodate 100 graduate students, 60 scientists, and 14 faculty professors, as well as housing the Liebig Center for Entrepreneurism and Technology Advancement, a program designed to speed the process of translating basic research for clinical or industrial use.

The Wake Forest University School of Medicine is planning to expand its Piedmont Triad Research Park by 180 acres. The expansion would increase the four-building, 600-worker park to ten times its current size.

Stanford University's Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science, currently under construction, is slated for completion in summer of 2003. The multi-disciplinary 225,000-sf facility will bring researchers from a variety of different fields together. There are no walls inside the building. Work spaces are adjustable, with wheeled benches, shared fume hoods, and electrical outlets and ventilation ducts available every ten feet.

Westmont   College of Santa Barbara is seeking San Francisco Planning Commission approval to create a college dormitory in San Francisco’s 6,300-sf Victorian Inn on the Park. The 18-room former inn would be converted to a 30-bed dorm for Westmont’s urban studies program.   

Indiana University is building the Center for Young Children on its Indianapolis campus. The 24,000-gsf (17,087-asf) center is part of a Presidential initiative to improve availability of childcare on college campuses by investing in facilities. Accommodating a total of 240 part- and full-time children, the building will contain two modules with age-specific classrooms in each. The $3.4-million project was designed by CSO Architects.

Indiana University in Bloomington is developing the 33,000-sf Neal-Marshall Education Center, center for African-American studies, and the Department of Theatre and Drama (84,000-sf) in a 117,000-sf (70,200-asf) addition to the Auditorium building. Existing theatre facilities are also being renovated.  The addition will contain Department of Theatre and Drama classrooms, offices, theatres, instructional facilities, and research studios.

Indiana University in Bloomington is building a $6.3-million addition to the Psychology department housing child development, biology, and behavioral research laboratories. The four-story, 45,748-gsf (22,962-asf) structure will contain two teaching labs. The project includes shell space to accommodate future department growth, which will also enable consolidation of programs currently housed in a remote facility. Designed by CSO Architects, the addition is slated for completion in late summer of 2002.

Indiana University in Indianapolis is building Research Institute II, a companion building and mirror image of the nearby Cancer Research Institute. The 127,648-gsf (65,707-asf) building will provide modular flexible laboratories for consolidated research in basic and medical sciences. Designed by BSA Design, the $26,940,000 institute will connect via a tunnel to the Medical Research and Library Building and will include labs, offices, support, and a basement. Centrally located service areas will house technologically advanced research equipment to be shared by multiple researchers.

Indiana University is building the 92,387-gsf (57,280-asf) Student Activities Center on its South Bend campus. Designed by Architecture Design Group (ADG), the $16,651,000 project will house student government, organizational offices and meeting room facilities, and food service, retail, lounge, and support/security space. Recreational facilities in the center will include a fieldhouse, jogging track, handball courts, exercise and aerobics rooms, showers, and locker rooms.

The planned $25-million FedEx Technology Institute at the University of Memphis is slated for completion in May 2003. Designed by a joint venture of The Crump Firm and Looney Ricks Kiss, the facility will house computer labs, a training room, hardware and software development labs, a technologically equipped forum, collaboration suites, a cyber-café and an exhibit area. Occupancy is anticipated in August 2003.

The University of Memphis has completed the $15-million Kemmons Wilson School of Hospitality and Resort Management. The 82-suite building with meeting, ballroom, and service restaurant facilities was designed by Guy Payne and Associates and built by Mayer Construction.

The University of Memphis renovation of Wilder Tower is slated for completion in late August 2002. The building, designed by a joint venture of Allen and Hoshall and WPA, will house centralized student services including registration, financial aid and counseling. General contractor for the $12-million project is Jameson and Gibson.