KSS Architects wins AIA NJ design award

KSS Architects won a Merit Award for Warch Campus Center, Lawrence University, in the New Jersey chapter of the American Institute of Architects’ annual Design Awards Program. The project was one of three to win the award in the category of Architectural/Non-Residential. AIA NJ received about 60 submissions for its annual design competition.
The $34 million, four-story, 107,000-sf campus center embodies the values of the university.
It links academic and residential hubs on campus and provides a giant living room for students, faculty and staff. Visitors can move horizontally and vertically through the building to find a variety of places to eat, study and relax with friends. The building features the university’s main dining facilities, a cafe, campus and convenience stores, event rooms, student organization offices and a number of activity spaces including a theater and performance stage.
Warch Campus Center has received numerous design and sustainability awards and recognition, including LEED Gold certification from the USGBC, the first higher education building in Wisconsin to do so. The recognition is the second highest level in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for high-performance, sustainable buildings.
Uihlein-Wilson Architects, based in Milwaukee, was the project’s Architect-of-Record. BD+C

A new report from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International and Kingsley Associates shows that property professionals are trimming building operating expenses to stay competitive in today’s challenging marketplace. The report, which analyzes data from BOMA International’s 2010 Experience Exchange Report® (EER), revealed a $0.09 (1.1 percent) decrease in total operating expenses for U.S. private-sector buildings during 2009.

| Sep 21, 2010

Forecast: Existing buildings to earn 50% of green building certifications

A new report from Pike Research forecasts that by 2020, nearly half the green building certifications will be for existing buildings—accounting for 25 billion sf. The study, “Green Building Certification Programs,” analyzed current market and regulatory conditions related to green building certification programs, and found that green building remain robust during the recession and that certifications for existing buildings are an increasing area of focus.

| Sep 21, 2010

Middough Inc. Celebrates its 60th Anniversary

Middough Inc., a top ranking U.S. architectural, engineering and management services company, announces the celebration of its 60th anniversary, says President and CEO, Ronald R. Ledin, PE.

| Sep 16, 2010

Gehry’s Santa Monica Place gets a wave of changes

Omniplan, in association with Jerde Partnership, created an updated design for Santa Monica Place, a shopping mall designed by Frank Gehry in 1980.

| Sep 16, 2010

Green recreation/wellness center targets physical, environmental health

The 151,000-sf recreation and wellness center at California State University’s Sacramento campus, called the WELL (for “wellness, education, leisure, lifestyle”), has a fitness center, café, indoor track, gymnasium, racquetball courts, educational and counseling space, the largest rock climbing wall in the CSU system.

| Sep 13, 2010

Community college police, parking structure targets LEED Platinum

The San Diego Community College District's $1.555 billion construction program continues with groundbreaking for a 6,000-sf police substation and an 828-space, four-story parking structure at San Diego Miramar College.

| Sep 13, 2010

Campus housing fosters community connection

A 600,000-sf complex on the University of Washington's Seattle campus will include four residence halls for 1,650 students and a 100-seat cafe, 8,000-sf grocery store, and conference center with 200-seat auditorium for both student and community use.