Higher Education

The University of Denver has completed the design of its new College of Law building. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott of Boston, in association with H&L Architects of Denver, the 190,000-sf facility is the nation's first certified "green" law school. The $50-million building features 40% lower energy usage than comparable new buildings and includes ultra-low-emitting wood products, paints and carpeting, a groundwater recapture-recycle system for landscaping, and bicycle and electric car refueling capabilities.

 Northwestern University began construction on the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center on its Chicago campus in March, 2002. Designed by lead architect Davis Brody Bond, LLP of New York and engineer BR+A of Boston, the 12-story building will house 9 laboratory floors with offices, a campus center on the ground floor, and two floors below grade for vivarium and mechanical rooms. Mechanical operations will also be housed on the second floor and the penthouse.

Sitework began in April on phase one of North Carolina State University's Undergraduate Science Teaching Lab (USTL) located on the main campus. 70,700 gsf of instructional chemistry and physics labs and classrooms will be constructed, as well as 40,500 sf of instructional laboratories, classrooms and greenhouses for horticultural sciences. The project, designed by Little and Associates Architects, is being built by contractor R.N. Rouse. Laboratory planner is Research Facilities Design of San Diego.

North Carolina State University is developing the 1,334-acre Centennial Campus in Raleigh, N.C., a mixed-use "technopolis" of university, corporate and government R&D facilities. With 1.3 million sf built in 16 major building modules, the Centennial Campus will also include a town center, business incubators, housing, and an executive conference center and hotel. The campus is comprised of the 1,120-acre Centennial Campus and the 214-acre Centennial Biomedical Campus.

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.