Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Tennessee, Knoxville Honored With Awards for Beautification Efforts

  • 03/01/19

KNOXVILLE, TN – The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) has been honored for its efforts to beautify campus by the 2019 Orchid Awards, a Keep Knoxville Beautiful program that celebrates Knoxville and Knox County’s most attractive properties.

Awards were presented in seven categories. The Ken and Blaire Mossman Building won in the new architecture category, while UT Gardens received the Mary Lou Horner Beautification Award.

Named for the late Ken and Blaire Mossman, the 221,000-square-foot, six-floor Mossman Building opened in September 2018. The building houses microbiology, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, psychology, and nutrition. It features interactive classrooms, gathering spaces and study areas throughout the building, and a checkerboard theme on the exterior. The building’s collegiate Gothic style links it thematically with other new campus buildings.

Recognized in 2013 as the official botanical gardens of Tennessee, the UT Gardens function as an outdoor laboratory to evaluate the performance and landscape use of every type of plant, from trees and shrubs to annuals and perennials to ornamental grasses and aquatic plants. The gardens are a part of the UT Institute of Agriculture.

The Orchid Awards have been held annually since 1979.

Featured

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.

  • University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

    The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming.

  • Houston-Area High School Breaks Ground on 117,000SF Multi-Use Facility

    North Shore Senior High School, part of Galena Park ISD in Houston, Texas, recently broke ground on a new multi-use facility for student extracurriculars, according to a news release. The North Shore Multi-Use Facility will include dedicated practice and training space for the school’s athletics and fine arts programs.

  • Architectural Power for the Modern Campus Landscape

    For generations, an outdoor classroom only required a textbook and a patch of grass. Today, not only has the laptop replaced the printed pages, the rise of agile learning has turned campuses into study halls with students listening to lectures and researching topics from quads, gardens, and plazas. The challenge for architects and facility managers is to provide connectivity without cluttering the landscape with visual eyesores or creating safety hazards with extension cords.