Campus Modernization
Our pre-K through eighth-grade Catholic parish school was built in 2001, so it’s still considered fairly “young” as far as educational institutions go. With education evolving at the speed of light over the last two decades, we simply can’t afford to rest on our laurels—even if those laurels are younger than those of most other schools.
New Construction
Blackhawk Technical College in Janesville, Wis., held a groundbreaking ceremony this week for its new Public Safety Education Center, according to local news. The facility is the final piece of the ongoing Public Safety + Transportation Complex project, the result of a $32-million referendum that local voters passed in November 2020.
Campus Renovations
Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, N.J., recently completed the restoration of the second-oldest residence hall on campus, according to a news release. The college partnered with Voith & Mactavish Architects LLP (VMA) to modernize Brown Hall, built in 1864.
Campus Technology
The Arizona State University Thunderbird School of Global Management recently announced that it has selected products from visualization technology provider Planar to install in its new global headquarters in Phoenix, Ariz.
New Construction
Baltimore County officials recently gathered to celebrate a groundbreaking ceremony for a replacement high school facility in Lansdowne, Md. The new Lansdowne High School comes with an estimated price tag of $156 million and will cover 318,461 square feet, according to local news.
Campus Security
As part of Safe Schools Week, which runs from Oct. 16–22, security products and solutions provider Allegion has launched a new video series to provide K–12 administrators with resources regarding security, safety and funding.
New Construction
After more than ten years of waiting, construction has finally begun on a new Center for Performing Arts (CPA) on the campus of Western Illinois University in Macomb, Illinois.
New Construction
Design firm HGA recently finished construction on a new STEM-oriented building for Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. The Health | Science | Technology (HST) building is located in the northeast corner of campus and plays home to the university’s new College of Health, according to a press release.
Campus Amenities
Furnishings provider Kimball International recently announced that it has found a new home for its showroom in Boston, Mass.
New Construction
Construction management firm Kraus-Anderson recently announced that it has finished construction on three projects for the White Bear Lake School District in White Bear Lake, Minn. According to a news release, the three schools are North Star Elementary, Birch Lake Elementary, and Lakeaires Elementary.
Campus Renovations
The University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Utah, is set to begin construction on renovations and additions to its applied sciences building. Work will start in early October and consist of renovating 40,000 square feet inside the William Stewart Building for Applied Sciences, as well as building a 100,000-square-foot addition on the building’s west side.
Campus Renovations
The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently announced that it will provide a $26-million lead investment toward the restoration and renovation of the UT Tower at the UT-Austin campus.
New Construction
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, located in Chapel Hill, N.C., recently broke ground on a new $150-million business school. The future Steven D. Bell Hall will play home to the Kenan-Flagler Business School to modernize its facilities and allow the school to accommodate about 50% more undergraduate students, according to university news.
Campus Amenities
Tubular Daylighting Device (TDD) manufacturer Solatube International, Inc. recently introduced the newest addition to its SolaMaster product line. The Round Ceiling Fixture features a minimal ceiling intrusion that is almost flush with the ceiling itself, offering a clean, modern way to add daylighting into installation spaces.
New Construction
Hartselle City Schools in Hartselle, Ala., recently broke ground on a replacement facility for the oldest school in its district. The new Crestline Elementary School will cover about 105,000 square feet, cost about $36 million, and is scheduled for completion in time for the beginning of the 2024–25 school year, according to local news.
Campus Technology
As the technology has advanced, both the elementary and secondary educational markets have sought to upgrade classrooms to keep pace with the changing technology. Of course, as the newest flatscreens, most advanced computer monitors, and cutting-edge interactive panels made their way into the classroom, there was an accompanying need to mount them.
Landscape Design
Smith College in Northampton, Mass., recently partnered with landscape architecture firm MNLA to complete a 20-year landscape master plan for its 147-acre campus.
New Construction
St. Mary’s College of Maryland in St. Mary’s City, Maryland, recently debuted its new performing arts center to the public. The college held a daylong celebration on Saturday, Sept. 24, in honor of the new Nancy R. and Norton T. Dodge Performing Arts Center.
Case Study
The University of Virginia School of Architecture (UVA) is providing students with a new and improved design education environment which includes a 24,000 square foot renovation project as well as model making spaces.
Campus Renovations
A Louisiana high school recently completed a series of construction and renovation projects with the ribbon-cutting for its new Career Technical Education Center.
indoor Air Quality
Air monitoring systems provider Poppy Health recently released the results of a pilot study that it conducted alongside Primary.Health to test indoor air at California K–12 schools, according to a news release.
New Construction
LSU Health Shreveport and the Houston Studio of architecture and design firm Perkins&Will have announced design details about two upcoming projects for the academic medical center located in Shreveport, La.
Staffing
Architectural, interior design, landscape architecture, and planning firm Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., recently announced that Jeff B. Livingston, RA, NCARB will join the firm as its new Director of Campus Architecture.
Campus Renovations
The University of Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., recently announced that its upcoming Rose Street Development Park Project will be named the Alumni Commons.
New Construction
The Maple River School District in Mapleton, Minn., recently finished construction on a new, $63-million K–12 school. The new facility covers 200,000 square feet and will serve students in the rural communities of Amboy, Good Thunder, Mapleton and Minnesota Lake, according to a news release.
Sustainability
Fredericksburg City Public Schools in Fredericksburg, Va., recently partnered with facility solutions provider ABM on the creation of an Energy Performance Contracting program. The solution will save the district an estimated $3.1 million in energy and operating costs over the next fifteen years, according to a news release.
Campus Security
A Michigan school district recently selected an AI-based gun detection platform to combat the recent rise in active shooter events, according to a press release.
New Construction
Florida Polytechnic University in Lakeland, Fla., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its new, $47-million Applied Research Center. The facility measures in at more than 90,000 square feet, according to a university news release, and it houses amenities like research and teaching laboratories, student design space, faculty offices and conference rooms, and study spaces.
New Construction
The Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wis., recently broke ground on a 150,000-square-foot cancer research facility that will be the first of its kind in both the city of Milwaukee and in eastern Wisconsin, according to a news release. The MCW Cancer Research Building will centralize the college’s 700 cancer-related researchers and 135 lab spaces currently spread across its campus into a single location.
New Construction
Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo., recently announced that the opening of its new John Goodman Amphitheater has been delayed until late October. The project was originally expected to be completed by early summer, in time for the beginning of the 60th season of the university’s Tent Theatre program.
STEM Education
Duquesne City School District in Pennsylvania has formally opened an eSports arena on its K–8 campus in the Pittsburgh area. The space, designed for use by middle schoolers, will also double as a computer science/makerspace lab.
Campus Technology
Oregon State University in Corvallis, Ore., recently announced that it has launched an online toolkit to help students around the world complete the college application process. The resource, AXS Companion, launched on Sept. 1 and is available free of charge, according to a university news release.
Campus Renovations
Brown University in Providence, R.I., recently completed a $3-million renovation of one of its campus dining facilities, according to university news.
Campus Renovations
Construction will begin soon on the campus of Truman State University in Kirksville, Mo., to convert a historic building into a Student Success Center. A renovation project was announced in February 2022 with construction scheduled to begin in August. A recent local news story reports that construction is on track and that university officials have been conducting meetings with architects during the summer and into the fall.
Campus Sustainability
Nonprofit organization NC GreenPower recently announced the recipients of its 2022 Solar+ Schools grant program. The program provides K–12 schools across North Carolina with the funds to establish a 5-kW solar energy system on campus, according to a news release.
New Construction
VLK Architects recently announced that it has completed a series of projects on a wide variety of K–12 campuses in Texas in time for the new school year.
New Construction
The University of Maine in Orono, Maine, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new E. James and Eileen P. Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center (Ferland EEDC) on Wednesday, Aug. 24.
Campus Amenities
The Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) recently announced a partnership with Arizona State University (ASU) to create MyPath2ASU, an online program that provides LACCD students with a method of transferring to the latter school to earn a four-year degree.
New Construction
Ada Robinson Elementary School in Lincoln, Neb., had its first day of school on Monday, August 29—two weeks later than planned.
New Construction
The Daytona State College (DSC) Deltona Campus in Deltona, Fla., recently broke ground on the campus’ second building. Currently known as Building 2, the facility will serve as a multi-disciplinary laboratory and academic space to house classrooms and workforce training labs.