Campus Design 2007

This page of news items is a service of the Society for College and University Planning. It is managed by an undergraduate student from the University of Michigan and was last updated in January 2007. If you see a news media item that you think should be included here or you find that a link to a news story is no longer active, please send an e-mail to campusdesign@scup.org.

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“A comprehensive development plan at the University at Buffalo begins this spring with an improvement project at UB’s Founder’s Plaza. The plaza on North Campus will be landscaped and resurfaced, one of a handful of key construction projects set to take place this spring and summer as the university prepares to implement UB 2020, a comprehensive physical plan…The second phase of the Allen Hall renovation calls for creation of an indoor town square, with a 180-seat auditorium, public meeting spaces and a café. ”

“Indiana University has approved design plans for a $55 million Cyber Infrastructure Facility on the Bloomington campus. The project will include construction of two buildings. A $30 million facility will house the university’s supercomputer. Officials say it will offer a location that can protect the supercomputer from natural disasters, such as tornadoes or earthquakes. In addition, a 117,800-square foot building would house offices and classrooms for information technology employees, as well as computers and other related equipment. IU officials say they hope to begin construction this summer. Once construction begins, it would take about two years to complete the project. ”

“The University of Evansville’s new $23.6 million student center will pack plenty of ‘wow’ factor into its 90,000 square feet, according to UE officials…Construction is slated to begin this summer on the William L. Ridgway University Center. A fall 2008 opening is planned…University officials envision the upgraded Ridgway Center as the campus ‘living room,’ where students will gather daily to dine, lounge and interact, Clayton said. On the lower level, Ridgway Center will have an information area, cafeteria facilities, the Aces Place convenience store, ATM machines, the University Bookstore (which will relocate from across Lincoln Avenue), the Underground lounge and recreational area and Jazzman’s coffee bar and cafe.”

“The nearly completed Upper Eastside Lofts on 65th Street will soon be the newest Sacramento State student housing, campus officials announced today. Under a new agreement, the lofts will serve as a near-campus student community for at least the next 15 years. They will be ready for students to move in by the upcoming fall semester, and reservations are now being accepted. The project—part of a campus effort to expand housing options—is one of three projects underway, including a new on-campus residence hall and a University Housing Village for faculty and staff, about a mile off campus. More than 440 students will be able to live in the Lofts. Residential advisors will live in units on site, and residential life programs will be integrated with other campus life programs. ”

“The community building at Indiana University South Bend’s planned student apartments will look out upon a large sports field and the St. Joseph River. The building’s vaulted ceiling and tall front window will mirror the peaked front window of the Schurz Library across the river. Surrounding the building will be eight apartment houses containing one-, two- and four-bedroom apartments, providing campus living space for 400 students…The community building is designed as a “green” building—with sustainable materials that should qualify it for Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, said Sam Jones, an architect for the Troyer Group of Mishawaka.”

“For the first time since its completion, renovated spaces at Dakota County Technical College took center stage during the Wednesday, March 28, College Showcase…Completed in time for the start of the 2006-07 academic year, the $7.8 million renovation covers 46,575 square feet…It turns out that a new, more modern and comfortable space was all the encouragement the students needed to use the study area. ”

“A central goal of the initiative is for N.Y.U. to be ‘more open, transparent and cooperative in its dealings with the community’ and also to ‘create predictability’ in its expansion. N.Y.U. is seeking a top planning team to chart the university’s future growth by producing a long-range strategic plan. The university is also working with Borough President Scott Stringer’s N.Y.U. Task Force to find solutions to ongoing issues dividing the university and community. The information coming out of the task force, which will meet on a regular, ongoing basis, will inform the campus-planning process…Developing this plan is the focal point of the N.Y.U. 200 campaign — the school’s preparations for its 2031 bicentennial.”

“If all goes according to schedule, Hutchinson Community College staff and officials could see a new science and biotechnology building on campus in the next two to three years…Bohm said the renovations include 17,000 square feet worth of new construction to the existing 21,000 square-foot building. Currently, the building houses all of the college’s science classes. The renovated building would include math faculty and classes as well.New construction would include additional classrooms, labs, storage, a commons area and faculty work spaces. A majority of construction would take place on the east side of the science building.”

“World-renowned architect Frank Gehry will get a chance to fulfill his dream of expanding the first art museum he designed in the U-S. Gehry will design a ten (m) million dollar addition to the Weisman (WEYEZ’-muhn) Art Museum on the University of Minnesota’s East Bank campus in Minneapolis. Plans for the addition to the museum will be announced Tuesday. Construction is expected to begin later this year, with plans for an opening in 2009.”

“The GW community came one step closer to a final vote on the new 20-year Campus Plan Thursday afternoon as the National Capital Planning Commission unanimously passed the proposal, with some restrictions…The 20-year Campus Plan calls for vertical growth of GW buildings as well as expansion of Gelman Library, several residence halls and the Marvin Center. The proposal also includes construction of a new science facility in place of the parking garage on 22nd and I streets and a cancer center near the hospital. GW proposed the Campus Plan before the NCPC after receiving approval from the D.C. Zoning Commission in early February. The approval came after eight hearings starting in September, and the final decision should be made within the next month.”

“Students and administrators at The University of Texas at Dallas have begun planning a freshman “living-learning” residence hall and a stand-alone food services facility, both of which are anticipated to be opened during the next 18-24 months. When completed, the housing is expected to provide accommodations and parking for approximately 400 students. According to university officials, students will be involved in all aspects of the project, from design concept to construction…The new living-learning center, which will group together students with similar interests and majors, likely will be situated on university-owned property on Rutford Avenue…It is anticipated that the total cost of the project will be approximately $37 million.”

“As a result of the ongoing campus construction and expansion projects that have taken place at College of the Canyons in recent years, the college will soon begin implementing a new campus signage master plan and renaming several campus buildings. Working with signage design firm Biesek Design – which works exclusively with campuses, national parks and institutional clients – COC officials determined the needs of the campus by evaluating vehicular and pedestrian traffic patterns and accessibility routes for the disabled, while also considering the impact of current and future construction projects at the college…COC officials plan to have the new signage work complete by the end of the summer, just in time for inclusion in the Fall 2007 schedule of classes.”

“Jackson State University’s president could live in the most expensive dwelling for any of Mississippi’s university leaders if the proposed $2 million on-campus home is built. The home will be part residence, part showplace and part meeting space. The push for a new residence for President Ronald Mason and place to welcome visitors and court donors comes as Jackson State begins a $50 million fund drive for scholarships and academic needs.”

“Rising construction costs mean that South Mountain Community College will pay more for less to build a satellite campus in Ahwatukee Foothills, the college’s president said this week. The college is moving as quickly as it can to plan, design and build a ‘learning center’ near 40th Street and Pecos Road.The center is planned on a 6-acre site at the northeastern corner of 40th Street and Cottonwood Lane that the college bought in January for $2.75 million…The college is expected to be designed from March 2008 to October 2009.”

“Technical College could be on a new site within four years. The college has appointed architects to examine the suitability of the proposed Waterfront Quarter development on the edge of Huddersfield town centre as a location for a purpose-built main campus.”

“Over the past year, the University at Buffalo’s Center for Computational Research has quadrupled computing power, upgraded its high-performance storage system and installed a new state-of-the-art visualization room. If that wasn’t enough, it also moved its entire infrastructure, including a 2,000-processor supercomputer, from the university’s North Campus into UB’s New York State Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus in downtown Buffalo. And CCR users noticed barely a hiccup in service…’Having CCR move into the Center of Excellence definitely has improved our interactions with their staff,’ he said. ‘Considering the nature of the research we do at Roswell, I envision that we and other biomedical researchers will become major users and beneficiaries of CCR in the near future.’ ”

“The University has released details of its campus redevelopment scheme. As reported in the Wessex Scene last year, the £236 million Capital Development Programme will transform the Boldrewood site into the UK’s first wholly integrated ‘professional campus’, comprising the School of Management and a building to accommodate the marine services of London-based company, Lloyd’s Register. The restoration of the site will allow for closer engagement with business and professional organisations, and will generate greater employment prospects for the city.”

“State education officials Thursday gave the University of Idaho the go-ahead to spend $1.6 million in federal grant money on designing an events pavilion on the Moscow campus and studying how to finance it. The university may look to private donors to fund a 6,000-seat addition to its athletics complex to help accommodate sports and community events that now crowd the Kibbie Dome. Plans drafted recently also outline possible improvements to bring the 32-year-old wooden dome up to fire code…Plans also call for enhancements to the Vandal Athletic Center east of the dome, which would include new training facilities and tutoring services – amenities that officials hope will lure athletic talent.”

“More tentative details of the Boston College master plan for development in Brighton are trickling out in advance of the approaching Institutional Master Plan filing, causing debate among residents over what is the best and most appropriate way for the university to grow to the satisfaction of both BC and the neighboring community…The presentation stressed the university’s desire to eventually unite the existing parts of the campus with the newly annexed areas, in a seamless blend of open space, academic and administrative buildings…Dumont presented artist’s renderings of the plan, which includes a 400-foot-long MBTA stop in the middle of the road, and an elevated pedestrian walkway that will connect buildings on either side of the intersection with each other and the MBTA station”

“Wilkes University recently became one of the first college campuses in the country to institute a university-wide switch from Windows-based PCs to Apple’s new Intel-based Macs. Over the next three years, Wilkes University will become an all-Mac campus, providing faculty and students access to both Mac-only offerings such as iLife, Apple’s suite of digital lifestyle applications, and Mac OS X, the world’s most advanced operating system and Windows applications. ‘Macs are constructed with superior technology and hardware and their ability to run Windows means we still have access to any Windows programs,’ said Scott Byers, vice president for finance and general counsel at Wilkes University. ‘We’re making working and learning more efficient. It’s the best of both worlds.’ ”

“Media Credit: Dan Burns
This future glass walk way connects the sides of the Medical Care and the CARE/Crawley building…On the East Campus of the University of Cincinnati lies some of the most important buildings, in Ohio and even in the country for that matter. UC’s East campus is made up of more than five of the nation’s leading hospitals, Hoxworth Blood Center, the Hamilton County Coroner and one of only 22 of the nation’s world- famous Shriner’s Hospitals for Children…What they came up with is a five-phase plan, which, in addition to the system’s maintenance, would allow new library, bookstore, study areas and clinical research space as early as next year…Since then, an average of 120 crew members have been working toward getting the buildings operational for the patients, students, teachers, doctors and associates of the college by early 2008.”

“With the renovation of the CUB and Martin Stadium, it is easy to overlook all the other work Capital Planning and Development is doing on campus. The department is working on nine projects on the Pullman campus alone. The total cost of these projects is about $879 million, according to Capital Planning’s Web site. This includes all projects in pre-design phases and those on hold. The university is building a golf course, research and education buildings, outdoor tennis courts, the Southside Dining Center – formerly known as the Rotunda Dining Center – and other minor improvements throughout the campus. “

“University officials are targeting 2008 to finish off the third floor of the new University of Wisconsin-Washington County science wing to house a proposed four-year degree program in engineering, an allied health program and other uses. The UWWC Board of Commissioners, the county-city board that oversees campus facilities, has agreed to advance a proposal to hire an architectural firm to produce schematic floor plans for the project and develop a preliminary cost estimate…The $8.95 million, 71,816-square-foot UW-WC science wing opened in 2002 with its first two floors providing classrooms, science labs, computer rooms, storage, maintenance and receiving areas. The third floor was left unfinished to accommodate future growth.”

“The Kestrel Design Group visited Luther Feb. 7-9 to survey the landscape and meet with members of the campus Land Use Committee to refine a master plan for the future of the Luther College campus. The plan will serve as a blueprint for campus land design over the next 10-30 years, including changes the committee hopes to have implemented by 2011 — the college’s sesquicentennial and the 100th anniversary of Luther’s landscape design by the Chicago landscape designer Jens Jensen…Over the next few months, the designers will integrate all aspects of their visit and form a draft plan to show the Luther community by the end of this spring semester. The committee wants the planning process to be as inclusive as possible and keep the campus well informed.”

“Middlebury could boast a full-fledged, campus-wide wireless network as early as next year, according to College officials. Network administrators familiar with the plan said that contract negotiations with product vendors are already underway. Installation of wireless routers across campus grounds could begin immediately upon their successful conclusion. ‘We could possibly begin work on the project as early as [this] summer,’ said Thomas Cutter, area director for Systems and Infrastructure, ‘with an eye towards completing the entire roll-out within the next 12 months.’ ”

“As Crow’s new favorite buzzword, sustainability has become a huge focus for administrators, professors and builders on campus. But while most people have a vague idea of what ‘sustainable’ initiatives involve – generally, they have something to do with using resources that are nature-friendly and that won’t have harmful long-term effects on the environment – they may be missing the larger picture…”We’re attracting students who are willing to take risks, but the benefits are far greater,” Boone says. “There is a need for positions such as sustainability officers at non-governmental agencies, as well as government agencies and various industries.”