Expanding the geographic reach of one of its areas of expertise – the design of student life facilities – Lord, Aeck & Sargent (LAS) announced that four colleges and universities recently have awarded the architecture firm significant such projects.
At Millersville University, LAS is partnering with private developer Ambling University Development Group and Student Services Inc., a non-profit corporation that enhances the campus and is managed by the university, to replace more than 2,000 beds over five years at a cost of $180 million. At Texas Southern University (Houston), HarrisonKornberg Architects in collaboration with LAS will design a $41.5 million urban student housing project. At Western Michigan University, (Kalamazoo), LAS was just selected to design a housing complex. And LAS is designing its third student housing project for Young Harris College (Young Harris, Ga.), this one a $9.5 million facility targeted toward first-year students. Joe Greco, LAS president and design principal for the four projects, said all of them will have significant living/learning component.
The Millersville housing, which will be designed in phases, will replace six aging dormitories over the next five years, transforming the South Quad of the campus into an academic village. The first phase, designed primarily for freshmen, will be a mostly four-story, 185,000-sf project with more than 700 beds in a mix of single- and double-occupancy suites and semi-suites, at a projected development cost of $35 million. The project design consists of two V-shape residential wings connected by a signature living/learning center that will anchor the end of a historic campus lawn. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2013 and is planned to be completed by August 2014. Benchmark Construction of Brownstown, Pa., is the construction manager.
The new Texas Southern University (TSU) facility, unlike Millersville, will be located in an urban setting on university-owned land adjacent to the existing main campus. Actively addressing the street, the building is expected to have at least one ground-level retail component. Currently estimated to be 215,000 square feet, the facility will house 800 beds and large and small group social and study spaces on six to seven floors. Construction on the TSU project is scheduled to begin in May 2013, with completion anticipated in July 2014.
At Western Michigan (WMU), the 750- to 1,000-bed housing complex involves the sustainable redevelopment of a central precinct on WMU’s campus, including the demolition of two 1960s-era dormitories and redevelopment of the quad with new, state-of-the-art residence halls. The complex will consist of the individual units, support spaces, an academic area, and other amenities. Construction is slated to begin in late 2013 with occupancy scheduled for the fall of 2015.
The new student housing at Young Harris College (YHC) is the third such project designed by LAS for the college in the last four years as part of its transformation from a two-year college to a comprehensive four-year institution. While LAS’ previous projects, Enotah Hall and The Village, were designed with sophomores and upperclassmen in mind, the new facility will be designed primarily for first-year students.
The 57,500-sf facility will house more than 230 beds organized in “pods.” Each “pod” will contain 11-12 double-occupancy rooms, one single room for a resident assistant, two common bathrooms and a common living area. Pods will be organized in three adjoining pavilions. Two of the structures will be four stories and one, three stories. The central pavilion will house common areas for all residents on the ground floor. Targeting LEED certification, construction began in October with the building scheduled to open in time for the fall 2013 semester. Hardin Construction Co. is construction manager for the project, and Brailsford & Dunlavey is the program manager. +
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Dec 12, 2023
Top 40 Military Facility Architecture Firms for 2023
Michael Baker International, HDR, Whitman, Requardt & Associates, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest military facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Office Buildings | Dec 12, 2023
Transforming workplaces for employee mental health
Lauren Elliott, Director of Interior Design, Design Collaborative, shares practical tips and strategies for workplace renovation that prioritizes employee mental health.
Giants 400 | Dec 11, 2023
Top 150 Local Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, HOK, Stantec, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest local government building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 11, 2023
Top 90 State Government Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Page Southerland Page, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Stantec, and NORR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest state government building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Codes and Standards | Dec 11, 2023
Washington state tries new approach to phase out fossil fuels in new construction
After pausing a heat pump mandate earlier this year after a federal court overturned Berkeley, Calif.’s ban on gas appliances in new buildings, Washington state enacted a new code provision that seems poised to achieve the same goal.
Green | Dec 11, 2023
U.S. has tools to meet commercial building sector decarbonization goals early
The U.S. has the tools to reduce commercial building-related emissions to reach target goals in 2029, earlier than what it committed to when it signed the Paris Agreement, according to a report by the U.S. Green Building Council.
MFPRO+ News | Dec 11, 2023
U.S. poorly prepared to house growing number of older adults
The U.S. is ill-prepared to provide adequate housing for the growing ranks of older people, according to a report from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Over the next decade, the U.S. population older than 75 will increase by 45%, growing from 17 million to nearly 25 million, with many expected to struggle financially.
Office Buildings | Dec 11, 2023
Believe it or not, there could be a shortage of office space in the years ahead
With work-from-home firmly established, many real estate analysts predict a dramatic reduction in office space leasing and plummeting property values. But the high-end of the office segment might actually be headed for a shortage, according to real estate intelligence company CoStar Group.
University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023
Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex
A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.
University Buildings | Dec 5, 2023
The University of Cincinnati builds its largest classroom building to serve its largest college
The University of Cincinnati’s recently completed Clifton Court Hall unifies the school’s social science programs into a multidisciplinary research and education facility. The 185,400-sf structure is the university’s largest classroom building, serving its largest college, the College of Arts and Sciences.
