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
| Mar 17, 2011
Hospitality industry turns to HTS Texas for ‘do not disturb’ air conditioned comfort
Large resort hotels and hospitality properties throughout the Southwest have been working with local contractors, engineers and HTS Texas for the latest innovations in quiet heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The company has completed 12+ projects throughout Texas and the Southwestern U.S. over the past 18 to 24 months, and is currently working on six more hotel projects throughout the region.
| Mar 16, 2011
AIA offers assistance to Japan's Architects, U.S. agencies coordinating disaster relief
“Our hearts go out to the people of Japan as a result of this horrific earthquake and tsunami,” said Clark Manus, FAIA, 2011 President of the AIA. “We are in contact with our colleagues at AIA Japan and the Japan Institute of Architects to offer not only our condolences but our profession's technical and professional expertise when the initiative begins focusing on rebuilding."
| Mar 16, 2011
Are you working on a fantastic residence hall project? Want to tell us about it?
The feature story for the May 2011 issue of Building Design+Construction will focus on new trends in university residence hall design and construction, and we’re looking for great projects to report on and experts to interview. Projects can involve new construction or remodeling/reconstruction work, and can be recently completed, currently under construction, or still on the boards.
| Mar 16, 2011
Foster + Partners to design carbon-neutral urban park for West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong
Foster + Partners has been selected by the board of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority to design a massive 56-acre urban park on a reclaimed harbor-front site in Hong Kong. Designed as a carbon-neutral development, “City Park” will seamlessly blend into existing streets while creating large expanses of green space and seventeen new cultural venues.
| Mar 15, 2011
What Starbucks taught us about redesigning college campuses
Equating education with a cup of coffee might seem like a stretch, but your choice of college, much like your choice of coffee, says something about the ability of a brand to transform your day. When Perkins + Will was offered the chance to help re-think the learning spaces of Miami Dade College, we started by thinking about how our choice of morning coffee has changed over the years, and how we could apply those lessons to education.
| Mar 15, 2011
What will the architecture profession look like in 2025?
The global economy and the economic recession have greatly affected architecture firms' business practices. A Building Futures survey from the Royal Institute of British Architects looks at how these factors will have transformed the profession and offers a glimpse of future trends. Among the survey's suggestions: not only will architecture firms have to focus on a financial and business approach rather than predominantly design-led offices, but also company names are predicted to drop ‘architect’ altogether.
| Mar 15, 2011
Passive Strategies for Building Healthy Schools, An AIA/CES Discovery Course
With the downturn in the economy and the crash in residential property values, school districts across the country that depend primarily on property tax revenue are struggling to make ends meet, while fulfilling the demand for classrooms and other facilities.
| Mar 14, 2011
Renowned sustainable architect Charles D. Knight to lead Cannon Design’s Phoenix office
Cannon Design is pleased to announce that Charles D. Knight, AIA, CID, LEED AP, has joined the firm as principal. Knight will serve as the leader of the Phoenix office with a focus on advancing the firm’s healthcare practice. Knight brings over 25 years of experience and is an internationally recognized architect who has won numerous awards for his unique contributions to the sustainable and humanistic design of healthcare facilities.
| Mar 11, 2011
University of Oregon scores with new $227 million basketball arena
The University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena opened January 13 with a men’s basketball game against USC where the Ducks beat the Trojans, 68-62. The $227 million arena, which replaces the school’s 84-year-old McArthur Court, has a seating bowl pitched at 36 degrees to replicate the close-to-the-action feel of the smaller arena it replaced, although this new one accommodates 12,364 fans.
| Mar 11, 2011
Temporary modular building at Harvard targets sustainability
Anderson Anderson Architecture of San Francisco designed the Harvard Yard childcare facility, a modular building manufactured by Triumph Modular of Littleton, Mass., that was installed at Harvard University. The 5,700-sf facility will remain on the university’s Cambridge, Mass., campus for 18 months while the Harvard Yard Child Care Center and the Oxford Street Daycare Coop are being renovated.
