University Business - December 2008 - (Page 18)

SENSE OF PLACE New residence halls help boost university’s competitive edge Copley Quad at Park University (Mo.) By Melissa Ezarik Built in just 10 months, park university’s new “rooms with a view” take a big step in updating old housing stock. • Function: two connecting buildings offer 250 beds in two-bedroom, twobath suites for four, with 840 square feet each, including a living area with efficiency kitchen. The halls also have computer labs, study rooms, offices, a conference room/classroom, laundry facilities, recreation space, and a full-service kitchen. • problem: all but one of the residence halls at park—which is built on three levels on a bluff along the missouri river—sat on the outskirts of campus. With the newest hall dating back 40 years, the housing stock “didn’t compare well to any of our competitors,” says clarinda creighton, vice president of student services. “We didn’t have the amenities students have come to expect.” as a result, “upperclassmen were moving off campus in droves.” administrators wanted to increase the number of on-campus residents in proportion to enrollment growth. research had shown that the most engaged alumni had lived on campus at park. in 2006 its leaders committed to building new housing, but there was no current campus master plan to guide the process. • Solution: a new master plan, developed by the kansas city, mo., firm ellerbe becket, abandoned the campus fringe zone of dorms in favor of a residential quad located close to park’s academic core, rec facilities, and downtown parkville. The craftsman style of copley hall, which dominates that part of campus, was picked up in the project’s design. an integrated design-build approach in which ellerbe becket provided at-risk construction management services allowed for an expedited schedule. Yet park 18 | December 2008 The lobby’s 24-hour reception desk helps residents feel safe and visitors feel welcome. officials still had decisions to make—including abandoning the original design of one wing being built into the cliff so that it would “look like a chateau,” notes creighton, a decision made because of the high cost of building into the stone. But the setting is still something to write home about. “i wanted to make sure anybody looking out the window was going to see something good,” she says. Besides the scenery, there are people to see outside those windows. The halls, which earned a leeD Silver designation, have created “a lot more pedestrian traf- fic in the center of campus,” creighton says. john poston, a principal architect at ellerbe becket, refers to the project as “a textbook example of success driven by good planning and great execution.” soon planning will begin on another residence hall to finish out the quad. • cost: $18 million • timeline: Fall 2007 ground breaking; august 2008 completion. • project team: ellerbe becket and sinclair hille of lincoln, neb., designed the residences; ellerbe becket construction services managed the process. Breaking Ground: Other Places • ConstruCtion of Brauer Hall at WasHington university in st. louis. The 150,875-square-foot building will help realize the university’s vision to establish itself as a hub for environmental and energy research, education, innovation, and action. It will house the School of Engineering’s Department of Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering and provide additional space for the International Center for Advanced Renewable Energy & Sustainability and the Department of Biomedical Engineering. RMJM Hillier designed the facility, which is scheduled for a 2010 completion. • ConstruCtion of a neW engineering teCHnology Center and renovation and expansion of a studio Building at soutHern polyteCHniC state university (ga.). The goal in the $33.3 million, state-funded project is to strengthen the university’s role as a pipeline for industry by producing engineering and engineering technology-related professions in the state. The 123,000-square-foot ETC building, designed by Cooper Carry of Atlanta, will include 36 labs, 12 classrooms, two seminar rooms, and a 200-seat lecture hall. Expected completion is July 2010. universitybusiness.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - December 2008

University Business - December 2008
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Human Resources
2009 Annual Directory to Financial Services
Future Shock
Independent Outlook
Endowment Management
Look Before You Leap
50 Best Branding Ideas
Remedial Nation
What's New
Facilities Focus
End Note

University Business - December 2008