University Business - March 2009 - (Page 45)

Unusual but Reusable: Other Examples of Adaptive Reuse • National Polytechnic College of Science (Calif.): Officials at the college, an affiliate of the National University System, converted a former U.S. Navy vessel into a fully functioning “floating campus,” based in the Port of Los Angeles. They rechristened the 110-foot-long, 34-foot-wide ship with the name “Discovery,” and it’s being used for students pursuing careers such as commercial diving and underwater welding. The campus contains two 25-person classrooms, a central office complex, faculty offices, a computer lab, a training tank, dive stations, multiple-deck hyperbaric chambers, welding stations, and maintenance shops. At press time, classes were scheduled to begin in February. • University of Florida: The Kathryn Chicone Ustler Hall, formerly known as the Women’s Gym, reopened for classes in September 2006 after sitting vacant for nearly 27 years. Built in 1919, “The New Gym” was no longer being used by 1979, but it was saved from demolition in 1988 after being granted National Register of Historic Places protection. A donation from alumna Kathryn Chicone Ustler (1961) in 2000 allowed for the former gym to be transformed into a 14,700-square-foot, three-level academic structure. The restoration process was completed in 2006. The hall is also home to the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research. • Berry College (Ga.): Built by Berry students in the 1930s, the Normandy Dairy Farm operated on the college’s grounds for six decades, providing education and training for North Georgia’s youth. As dairy students declined in number, and the dairy moved to a new location, the college chose to enter into a long-term agreement with the WinShape Foundation to run the property, which was converted into the WinShape Retreat Center. The 15 original structures—from milking barns to silos—have been renovated to become facilities for conferences, retreats, and summer camps. For example, a dining hall was once a milking barn, and a barn once used to house calves is now a reception hall and welcome center. The center earned a 2007 award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation. • Creighton University (Neb.): Officials acquired the former M.F. Shafer & Co. Building in 2006. Preserving the exterior and key interior architectural features, the project team transformed the building into the Wareham Building, an office space for housing staff supporting Creighton Medical Associates (an academic medical center) and the University Relations department. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 2002, the building was dedicated in May 2008. Built in 1917, the building was first used as a printing company and became a warehouse in 1925. In the 1970s it was acquired by the O’Keefe Elevator Company to store new elevators. The building, remodeled to meet LEED requirements, uses water source heat pumps for heating and cooling, energy efficient glass in existing window portals to harvest daylight during work hours, and includes additional insulation to the roof membrane. • Indiana State University: The more than 70-year-old University Hall is undergoing a nearly $30 million renovation to serve as the new home for the university’s College of Education. Constructed in the 1930s as a Works Progress Administration project, the building served as the ISU Lab School for five decades. New heating and air conditioning enables individual controls in each room. Skylights were developed in the building’s atrium to take full advantage of sunlight. Once the college moves into the building in fall 2009, officials expect to save approximately $1 million per year in energy costs. • Assumption College (Mass.): In 2007-2008, the college repurposed the former president’s residence, a Victorian home, into the new Admissions House. The 9,000-square-foot residence was expanded with a 6,000-squarefoot addition and was made to be more energy efficient to accommodate prospective students and their families, as well as more than two dozen admissions and financial aid staff. The Admissions House is the only building on campus from as far back as 1904, the college’s founding year. A carriage house has become a technology-rich classroom and presentation space. March 2009 | 45 ogy Commons center originated with the need for a centralized facility for students and evolved into a team-based learning environment for student technology needs. The bowling alley and pool hall had fallen victim to a decline in student interest over time and had been sitting vacant for almost three years until being closed in 2002. In 2004, a group of university officials was invited to visit a computer learning center at Virginia Tech. When they reported back, a discussion began about a location for student-centered technology services at EKU. A one-stop technology shop was needed. “We didn’t have a facility like this on campus with these services,” explains Jean Marlow, director of Instructional Technology, who was a part of the group that traveled to the Blacksburg, Va., campus. “We looked at the bowling alley as our first choice because of the central location on campus, and it also was the space we needed.” Student leaders got involved in the process by appointing an oversight committee to work with administrators on determining what features would be needed. A student technology fee, set at $50 per semester prior to this project, covered its cost. Allocated money from three budget cycles (2004 through 2007) was committed to the project. “I think it’s absolutely essential that any project like this, especially funded by students, be student centered and student focused,” says Marlow. “We were very careful to get buy-in and involvement of other students on campus.” So the final design incorporated results from student surveys, focus groups, and campuswide forums. “Students were looking for a collaborative working environment where they could sit down with their colleagues, with their peers, spread out and work on projects,” says Marlow. Also on student wish lists: a lounge area, wireless access in all areas, meeting space, and a printing center. Costing an estimated $1 million, renovations began in 2005 with the removal of sports equipment and were wrapped up in December 2007. Lexington-based Adams-Frazier-Anderson was contracted for the project. Suitable lighting fixtures were needed, so the project team had them installed. Another issue involved water leakages, due to the building’s age and condition, and modifications were made in universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - March 2009

University Business - March 2009
Contents
Editor's Note
Company Index
Advisory Board
College Index
Behind the News
Human Resources
Viewpoint
Money Matters
Special Report: Higher Ed and the Economy
Helping the Help Desk
Acts of Adaptation
10 Questions & Answers About the Cloud
What's New
End Note

University Business - March 2009