Campus Expansion
Melissa High School in Melissa, Texas, recently completed a 65,000-square-foot expansion in conjunction with the Perkins&Will Dallas studio. The new space includes a new practice gymnasium, an extension of the student union, a new performance theater, and an addition to the fine arts program.
New Construction
Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio, held a groundbreaking ceremony last week for a new School of the Built Environment facility. Once complete, the building will play home to the construction management and architecture and environmental design programs.
New Construction
Officials at Diné College’s Shiprock south campus in Shiprock, N.M., celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony this week for a new, $7.4 million Math and Science Building.
Campus Renovations
Merced College in Merced, Calif., was recently awarded with a $3-million construction and renovation grant by the Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The college has announced that it will use this grant, in combination with the remaining 2002 Measure H Bond funds, to renovate the Vocational Building near the heart of campus.
Building Addition
During its quarterly meeting last week, the Kent State University Board of Trustees approved an addition to the university’s Aeronautics and Engineering Building. The College of Aeronautics and Engineering opened in spring 2015, and since then, enrollment has grown enough to require additional space for faculty research and student classes and labs.
New Construction
Gonzaga University in Spokane, Wash., announced this week that it has named its new Integrated Science and Engineering facility: The John and Joan Bollier Family Center for Integrated Science and Engineering is scheduled to open this fall.
New Construction
School and public officials celebrated a groundbreaking ceremony this week on a new academic building for Clinton High School in Clinton, Iowa. The groundbreaking marks the start of a campus overhaul that will occur in phases, and the full scope of the $66.8-million project is scheduled to be complete by fall 2025.
Campus Renovations
The Nederland Independent School District (NISD) in Nederland, Texas, is preparing for renovations of all four of its elementary school campuses. District officials are expecting to receive design plans and a budget by August 2021, leading to an anticipated start date (for two of the schools) of October 2021. The primary goal is to keep the work within the $49.1 million budget that voters have already approved.
Campus Sustainability
The town of Mansfield, Conn., broke ground last week on the state’s first net-zero elementary school. Local politicians, town administrators, parents and students attended the ceremony on Thursday, June 25. The new school, which has yet to be named, will replace the town’s three existing elementary schools.
New Construction
Prince George’s County in Maryland is set to break ground on six new schools during the week of June 28 to July 2. The goal of the multi-school construction initiative is to address aging infrastructure, rising enrollment figures and a deficit of space for middle-school students in particular.
Leadership
Flooring solutions provider Shaw Industries Group, Inc., a subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., has tapped Shannon Cochran to be the new brand leader of Patcraft.
Campus Technology
New programs prepare students for real-world careers and college pursuits, with LG displays used for teaching, collaboration, highlighting student works and school-wide digital signage
Campus Technology
Walk into the Makerspace at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) and you will see Computer Numerical Control machinery; waterjet cutters; high-tech 3D printers for metal and plastic; and whiteboards full of ideas, to-do lists, and calculations. While the spacious downstairs is filled with machinery for students to bring theory into practice, the brand new, multi-purpose classroom upstairs is where much of the teaching and learning will prime students for success.
Awards
Spaces4Learning has announced the winners of its 2021 New Product Awards. The New Product Award program honors the outstanding product development achievements of manufacturers and suppliers whose products or services are considered to be particularly noteworthy in their ability to enhance the learning environment.
New Construction
Voith & Mactavish Architects, LLP (VMA) recently broke ground on a new building for the College of Business at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa. The 74,000-square-foot structure is slated to open in fall 2022 and contain 16 experiential learning spaces for the Rauch School of Business.
New Construction
Architecture firm SRG Partnership recently announced that it has designed a Net Zero energy building for the Cascades Campus of Oregon State University in Bend, Ore. Edward J. Ray Hall will serve as a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math (STEAM) learning center featuring both interior and exterior active learning spaces.
Campus Amenities
Viscor, a brand of Leviton Lighting, has announced that it is launching the Visioneering LRTH-DFX luminaire lighting unit featuring 365DisInFx UVA technology.
Campus Funds
Available until September 2024, money from ESSER and HEERF is intended to facilitate the safe and healthy return to in-person instruction, ensuring that schools across the nation can meet the needs of their staff and students from an education, safety, security, and wellness perspective. However, there are many questions about how the funds are distributed and how to make the most of every dollar received.
Campus Renovations
Hampton High School, located near Pittsburgh, Pa., will see a major redesign of its parking lots and surrounding access roads later this year. The goal of the construction project is to improve and streamline the flow of traffic for the safety of students, faculty, and the surrounding community. The total cost of the project is estimated at $17.4 million.
Campus Modernization
The Watchung Hills Regional High School District in Warren, N.J., recently partnered with Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., to renovate the Watchung Hills Regional High School Media Center into a top-of-the-line learning commons area.