Higher Education

The University of Texas in Austin recently awarded Watkins Hamilton Ross Architects (WHR) the contract to provide professional services for Phase One of the Pharmacy Building renovation. The 60,000-gsf Pharmacy Building was originally constructed in 1952 and is considered a historically relevant building by the University. The renovation program, including a project budget, should be finalized by the end of October. Upon funding approval, WHR will begin the design process.

Ohlone College, a Fremont, Calif., community college, is planning to develop a second campus on 81 acres recently purchased in Newark. Dubbed the Newark Center, the campus will house state-of-the-art health, biology, chemistry and technology labs and general education classrooms. A $150-million bond measure passed in March of 2002 is funding the purchase and development of the campus, which will accommodate 2,500 full-time students or from 4,500 to 5,000 part- and full-time students.

North Carolina State University will soon break ground on a new nanotechnology research facility on its Centennial Campus in Raleigh. The $24-million, 80,000-sf Partners III building is expected to open in July of 2004.

The State University at Albany's Center of Excellence in Nanoelectronics will expand with a massive $400-million research and development center. Created by an international consortium of computer chip manufacturers, the site will employ 250 researchers engaged in 300-millimeter chip development. The state of New York will contribute $210-million for construction, equipment, and specialized tools.

The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas recently broke ground on a 24,000-sf renovation of laboratory and office space for the University's biochemistry department. Architect for the project is Omniplan; the contractor is McCarthy. The project includes the demolition and renovation of a portion of the third floor in Building K, a five-story research facility on the UT Southwestern campus. The labs on this floor, used for research in cell biology, were originally constructed in the mid-1970s.

San Jose State University (SJSU) will open the doors of the new $177.5-million Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library on August 1, 2003. The 475,000-sf facility, the first public/private partnership in the nation between a university and a city, will feature a browsing library serving hot and cold meals, an Internet cafe, a large story-telling room, a rooftop terrace available for rental, and four multipurpose suites with videoconferencing equipment available for meetings.

Delta Search Labs is building a $300-million supercomputer lab in 50,000-sf of leased space at 700 Technology Square at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Expanding its 15,000-sf Kendall Square supercomputer operations, the new facility will enable researchers to visualize their data. 

Kennesaw State University is developing University Place, comprised of 11 three-story residential buildings and a 1,500-car parking deck. The $61-million, 700-bed project is a public-private venture built not with taxpayer dollars but with tax-exempt bonds and a nonrecourse loan. The 196-unit development included the Kennesaw State University Foundation's purchase of nine private homes and an existing apartment complex, which also helped fund the project.

Alamo Community College District recently celebrated the opening of its Advanced Technology Center (ATC). The workforce training center, sited at KellyUSA, features video teleconferencing capabilities to connect multiple classrooms with company sites worldwide. Fostering ties with the aerospace, defense, and IT industries, the ATC will provide training in avionics and computer-integrated manufacturing.  

Berklee College of Music celebrated the grand opening of its business center on July 17. The $1.1-million, 11,500-sf center consists of administrative support offices and new mail and copy centers in a two-level mixed-use urban facility. Designed by Miller Dyer Spears of Boston, the project includes a public retail copy center, with institutional mail and office areas on the main floor. Interior spaces are open to an exposed roof structure and new skylights, creating spacious ground level facilities.

Seminole Community College plans to build a three-story, 90,000-sf high-tech training facility on a $1.5-million, 6.1-acre site donated to the college by the Pizzuti Cos. Located in the Heathrow International Business Center, the facility will present curriculum designed to meet the needs of the high-tech employers for which the area has become a magnet. Construction is expected to begin in the next 12 months.

Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has contracted the D.C. office of URS as technical consultant for a new cancer research building. The original cancer research building was also designed by URS, an architectural and engineering services firm.

The University of the Incarnate Word broke ground earlier this week on a 3,360-sf expansion of the 1,200-sf Presa Community Center. Staffed with UIW faculty and students, the expansion will house a permanent office and resource center providing tutoring and mentoring programs, computer literacy classes, and small-business assistance. A Department of Housing and Urban Development grant is funding the $228,453 project. The Presa Community Center originated as a facility providing social services and helping families to become self-sufficient.  

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will partner with Brooks Air Force Base to create the UTSA Center for Excellence in Bioprocessing and Biotechnology. The center will provide vaccine-related research training to military and UTSA undergraduate and graduate students.

The American Institute of Mathematics (AIM) is planning a new conference center on a 190-acre site in Morgan Hill, Calif. Funded by a $5-million grant from the National Science Foundation, the AIM Research Conference Center (ARCC) will include the use of two existing buildings and renovation of another large building on the site. The architectural style for the new research center is modeled on the famous "Alhambra", the Moorish palace in Granada, Spain, renowned for its geometric proportions and mathematically intricate patterns.