Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

BGSU Breaks Ground on School of the Built Environment Facility

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/01/21

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. The project comes with a $10.4-million price tag and is scheduled for completion during the 2022-23 academic year.

The work includes a 22,900-square-foot expansion of an existing academic building on Park Avenue, which currently houses the architecture and environmental design program, and the new construction of an adjacent building. The new space will feature a 6,500-square-foot innovation lab for fabrication and construction classes, two digital labs, a materials and soils lab, classrooms and collaboration spaces.

“Having both programs under one location allows students in architecture and environmental design and construction management to learn from each other, which better prepares them for working on multidisciplinary teams,” said Dr. Joe B. Whitehead Jr., BGSU provost and senior vice president for Academic and Student Affairs. “It also allows our faculty to engage in collaborative research that will provide a deeper understanding of both fields, enhancing collaborative opportunities and driving student success.”

The School of the Built Environment is the only one of its kind in the state. BGSU also offers one of two Construction Management programs in Ohio and about 60 nationwide accredited by the American Council for Construction Education. The Park Avenue building had been previously renovated in 2014 to feature amenities like studios, a materials and reference library, a print room with plotters and laser cutters and an administrative suite for the architecture and environmental design program.

“As a public university for the public good, BGSU recognizes the importance of educating construction management students who understand design and architecture students who understand construction,” said BGSU President Rodney K. Rogers. “This innovative facility will increase collaboration in the School of the Built Environment, and it will better serve students, who will be prepared for productive careers and meet the workforce needs in Ohio and beyond.”

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • Chicago District Completes Construction on New Elementary School

    North Chicago School District 187 in North Chicago, Ill., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Forrestal Elementary School, according to a news release. The new school marks a major investment in military-connected students and families at Naval Station Great Lakes.

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.