New Construction
Georgia Southern University announced this week that JE Dunn Construction has completed construction on the university’s new Engineering and Research Building. The $60 million project was funded by the state of Georgia and serves as the new home for the College of Engineering and Computing.
New Construction
SchenkelShultz Architecture announced this week that construction of the Middle-High School at the P.K. Yonge Developmental Research School in Gainesville, Fla., is complete. The public, K–12 school was designed to meet the LEED Gold Certification standard as set by the U.S. Green Building Council.
Campus Amenities
Low voltage power solutions company Voltek Systems Inc. was featured in a recent episode of the popular home remodeling YouTube series "The Build Show." Host Matt Risinger discussed the installation of low-voltage wired and powered USB outlets that can power devices like smartphones and laptops without the use of a bulky charging brick.
New Construction
Radford University in Radford, Va., has selected construction and development firm Skanska to build its new, $102-million Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity (CAIC). The 177,917-square-foot facility will replace the existing College of Visual and Performing Arts and provide interdisciplinary student spaces.
New Construction
Stetson University, located in DeLand, Fla., has announced plans to break ground this fall on a new science facility. The Cici & Hyatt Brown Hall for Health & Innovation will measure in at 40,000 square feet and connect to the existing Sage Hall Science Center to form a 120,000-square-foot science complex.
New Construction
Harvard University recently saw construction finish on its new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC), located across the Charles River from its main campus in Cambridge, Mass. The complex, designed by Behnisch Architekten, is set to open to students in fall 2021.
New Construction
Jarrett Middle School, an existing member of Springfield Public Schools whose new campus is currently under construction in Springfield, Mo., could be designated as a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) academy by the time it opens.
New Construction
In Spokane, Wash., the final structural beam was placed in the facility that will become the medical and health education, research and innovation center for the University of Washington School of Medicine–Gonzaga University Health Partnership. The laying of this last piece is a construction milestone known as “topping off,” and representatives of the two schools gathered to celebrate.
- By Anne Holford-Smith, Serena Losonczy
- 05/01/21
Campus Renovations
Renovations to the Moody Coliseum on the campus of Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, resulted in a small fire on Tuesday night. The Abilene Fire Department responded to the call at about 10:30 p.m. and extinguished the flames without incident.
Campus Housing
Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., will begin construction this week on a housing development for graduate and professional students. Construction was originally slated to begin in summer 2020 but was delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campus Construction
One of the oldest buildings on the campus of Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn., was demolished to make room for a new construction project in progress. Alumni Hall, a sports arena that played home to the men’s and women’s basketball teams and also served as a concert venue, came down in preparation for a new Arena and Convention Center.
New Construction
The Kroger Louisville Division announced this week that it is donating $3 million toward the construction of an indoor baseball practice facility at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.
Campus Modernization
Western Michigan University, located in Kalamazoo, Mich., is readying its campus for a major construction initiative. According to a recent news release, contractors are preparing three small dorms for demolition while taking care to preserve and protect some natural historic features on the grounds.
Campus Renovations
Construction work on Hendersonville High School, located in Hendersonville, N.C., is set for completion in August 2022—11 months ahead of schedule. The project will also come in about half a million dollars under its $59.1-million budget.
New Construction
The five-year capital improvement plan for Lake County Schools, located in Tavares, Fla., includes $65 million in new and expanded schools, as well as $106.7 million in school renovation and modernization work. The plan covers planned projects between 2021 and 2025.
New Construction
Missouri State University broke ground recently on a new, $6.4-million amphitheater and arts park. The open-air John Goodman Amphitheatre, named after the St. Louis alum and famous comedian, will feature a permanent stage and 350 removeable seats.
New Construction
The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for the new $40-million student services building at Los Angeles Mission College. The event, which was livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook on Thursday, April 15, was the first in-person event for LACCD since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
New Construction
The University of Massachusetts Medical School, located in Worcester, Mass., unveiled the design this week for its new, $325-million therapeutics research and lab center. The New Education and Research Building, measuring in at 350,000 square feet, was designed by architecture firms ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge and ZGF.
New Construction
At the Hamilton County School Board meeting last week in Chattanooga, Tenn., the board donated an out-of-use school building for potential use as a partial-day construction school for high-school students.
Campus Renovation
Our single-story school building was built in the 1970s and has been added onto and modified many times over the years. When it came time to give it yet another overhaul last year, the goal was to create a modern, collaborative learning environment that supported group work, Socratic seminars, fishbowl meetings, and STEM learners. We simply couldn’t check off all of these boxes using our existing footprint, so we started looking at how we could modify the space
Campus Renovations
The Winifred School, part of Winifred Public Schools in Winifred, Mont., is set to receive a series of high-tech upgrades and renovations that would double the school’s original size. Upgrades to the K–12 school will include lab spaces, a woodworking area, an agricultural science space, a car repair space, and a full-size gym featuring an indoor track.
New Construction
Construction on a new middle/high school has begun in the Denver Community School District in Denver, Colo. The new facility will relieve space and capacity issues at the district’s existing school buildings, as its elementary, middle, and high schools currently share a single campus.
School Funding
This week, the West Virginia School Building Authority (SBA) approved just under $75 million in “Needs Grants” for school construction projects in seven counties. SBA members selected the recipients from a list of proposed projects in 30 counties totaling $248 million.
New Construction
The Hermiston School District, located in Hermiston, Ore., celebrated the groundbreaking of two new elementary schools last week. One replacement facility and one new facility are both set to open in the Eastern Oregon district in 2022.
New Construction
Officials in the Seminole County School District, headquartered in Donalsonville, Ga., recently announced a proposal to build a new, all-inclusive, PreK-through-12 school facility. They attribute the need for a new building to the age of current facilities and continuing repairs to buildings damaged by Hurricane Michael, among others.
Campus Facilities
George Mason University, located in Fairfax, Va., recently saw the installation of a new, 2.5-million-gallon water tank.
New Construction
The Utah State Legislature recently approved the construction of a new home for Utah State University’s foreign language programs. The $17-million Mehdi Heravi Global Teaching and Learning Center will house all of the university’s language-based programs under one roof.
New Construction
Towson University has opened its new Science Complex. The building is a 320,000-square-foot facility—the largest academic structure on the Maryland university's campus. It features 50 classrooms, 30 research laboratories, 10 collaborative student spaces, eight lecture halls, an outdoor classroom leading to the Glen Arboretum, a rooftop greenhouse complex, a new planetarium and an observatory.
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/12/21