The campus student center may once have been the place students passed through on the way to their next class. But these facilities have evolved into bustling destinations that foster campus culture and community.
Articles: Campus Construction
4/22/2013
- Young Harris College (Ga.) broke ground on a $41 million, 125-square-foot campus center in April. To be the largest structure on campus and completed in fall 2014, the project is the centerpiece of YHC’s master plan. It will house a multipurpose student center, a library, an expanded dining hall, and a banquet facility. Student-facing offices such as admissions and advising will be housed there. VMDO Architects (Charlottesville, Va.) is handling design.
3/26/2013
A 46,000-square-foot abandoned furniture warehouse has been given new life as the continuing education and industrial center at Randolph Community College in Asheboro, N.C.
2/25/2013
- A 20,000-square-foot newsroom with a 360-degree assignment desk as well as television, radio, and vodcast studios will be at the heart of Wallis Annenberg Hall, a five-story, 88,000-square-foot facility for the University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. A four-story atrium will feature a multistory digital media tower showcasing student programming, social media, and live broadcast news.
1/23/2013
While a new dorm or learning space might be needed or desirable on campus, facing down the associated headaches of time, mess, and expense can overshadow the benefits the finished project might bring.
Modular construction is an alternative delivery method that can tame some of those issues. Unfortunately, the word modular sends people back to the drafty trailers they remember from elementary school.
1/22/2013
Gone are the days when a basic classroom with a podium and desks was considered an acceptable learning space. In fact, according to CDW-G’s “Learn Now, Lecture Later” report released in June 2012, 47 percent of instructors surveyed said they are moving beyond the lecture-only model. In addition, 71 percent of students and 77 percent of instructors said they use more classroom technology than just two years ago.
1/2/2013
The new Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystems Research at Nova Southeastern University (Fla.) is believed by officials to be the largest research facility dedicated to this research area in the nation. So it’s fitting that officials did it up big with the grand opening, featuring President George Hanbury and members of the media taking a ceremonial dive. The facility is part of NSU’s Oceanographic Center at John U.
1/2/2013
At The Ohio State University, the term “master plan” is obsolete. That’s because what traditional master plans often lack—input from an institution’s academic and finance folks—are an integral part of the One Ohio State Framework Plan, shares Amanda Hoffsis, senior director of physical planning.
10/31/2012
With any campus building, what’s on the inside counts just as much—and probably more—than what’s on the outside. This is especially true with residence halls, which must include a balance of private and shared spaces. “The buildings need to promote interaction among students to encourage peer-to-peer learning in support of the institution’s academic mission,” says Jackson Kane, an associate and housing specialist at Lord, Aeck & Sargent. That’s no small order.
10/24/2012
At San Diego State University, construction is under way on a 100,000-square-foot renovation and 30,000-square-foot expansion of the Storm and Nasatir building complex, built in 1957. The project will allow the buildings to meet current health and safety code standards as well as correct deferred maintenance issues and improve water and energy conservation. It is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
9/26/2012
Prior to 2011, the sports and events facilities at the University of Mary Washington (Va.) were nothing to write home about. The university’s Dodd Auditorium had a capacity of 1,300 for concerts and other special events, and the Woodard Campus Center gymnasium, which was built in the 1950s, could only seat 500 and couldn’t be used for anything but sporting events.
9/25/2012
DeafSpace architectural design elements aid visual communication and help reduce eye strain and fatigue for deaf and hard of hearing people. A new Living and Learning Residence Hall, dubbed LLRH6, is the second construction project incorporating DeafSpace at Gallaudet University (D.C.).
8/28/2012
A community of 160 two- to five-bedroom cottages is under construction near The University of Mississippi campus. Partners in the $37.6-million, 4,700-bed project are EdR (majority owner and manager upon the fall 2013 completion) and Landmark Properties (handling development and construction).
7/18/2012
Two under-utilized spaces were transformed into highly trafficked, vibrant areas on Chestnut Hill College’s campus in Philadelphia.
7/17/2012
Touch screens are taking over—and people expect to see them. In the years since Apple first popularized the technology with the iPhone in 2007, it has become almost rare to meet someone who doesn’t own a touchscreen smartphone or tablet. This is becoming even truer among the college-bound and younger generation. Take, for example, the viral YouTube video showing a toddler who could easily operate an iPad, but seemed perplexed when she touched the pages of a magazine and nothing happened.
