LOS ANGELES—General contractor Suffolk is hard at work on a new elementary school for the Westmark School, located in the San Fernando Valley community of Encino. The so-called Lower School will focus specifically on students with language-learning difficulties.

The Lower School was designed by NBBJ. The 25,000-square-foot, educational edifice will entail 10 classrooms, a theater, outdoor play areas as well as a centrally situated courtyard. The design incorporates such building materials as tropical hardwood lumber, exposed lumber panels, formed concrete and other sustainable resources. Its structure will employ a cross-laminated timber (CLT) system, which will provide durability in earthquake-prone Southern California.

In a recent news release about the project, Suffolk Los Angeles General Manager Ken Summers said the project will marry innovative construction practices and sustainability.

“At Suffolk, we are well-equipped to navigate the changing needs of the education system, helping build, renovate and upgrade facilities that will be here to support students and faculty for years to come,” Summers said.

Suffolks, which enjoys annual revenue of $5 billion, also recently completed the 10,000-square-foot Child Development Academic Facility at Pierce College for the Los Angeles Community College District. Engineering News Record has ranked the firm #23 on its list of “Top 400 Contractors.”

The Lower School is scheduled to be open for the fall.

The post L.A.’s Westmark School Will Soon Have New Addition appeared first on School Construction News.

ENCINO, Calif.—General contracting firm Suffolk is expanding the Westmark School, located in Southern California’s extensive San Fernando Valley. The school offers instruction to students with various learning disabilities, such as dyslexia, but was in need of an expansion.

The summer groundbreaking marked the first step for the private school’s 25,000-square-foot edifice, which will be home to 10 classrooms, a theater and an outdoor play area. As designed by NBBJ, the school will feature exposed lumber panels, hardwood lumber as well as various sustainable resources.

The superstructure for the facility will feature a cross-laminated timber (CLT) motif, which will provide support and rigidity in Southern California’s earthquake-prone climate.

In a recent announcement regarding the school’s construction, Ken Summers, the general manager of Suffolk Los Angeles, said that his team is working hard to provide a pleasant learning space that simultaneously makes use of eco-friendly construction practices.

“At Suffolk, we are well-equipped to navigate the changing needs of the education system, helping build, renovate and upgrade facilities that will be here to support students and faculty for years to come,” Summers said.

The project is estimated to be finished in time for the fall term of 2023.

The post Encino’s Westmark School Begins Expansion appeared first on School Construction News.

DARTMOUTH, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth recently broke ground on a $134 million housing and dining complex designed to transform the student living and learning experience on campus. The project will create 150 construction jobs and 400,000 people hours of work. The facilities will open when students arrive for classes in fall 2020.

The complex, which is being built in Parking Lot 7 near the university’s Campus Center and College of Visual and Performing Arts, will include a $108 million, 1,210-bed, 267,500-square-foot housing complex in two buildings. In addition to the actual living areas, the facilities will include general academic classrooms, multimedia and study lounges, demonstration kitchens, and recreation spaces. The buildings will also offer technology-equipped maker spaces where students will be able to work on group projects, soundproof music practice spaces, and two computer learning commons. Two faculty-in-residence apartments will foster mentoring and advising. The new housing will replace four residence halls that opened in 1976.

The new complex will also include a $26 million, 38,000-square-foot, student dining commons with a capacity of 800. The facility will be designed with a marketplace concept that will expand food options in response to students’ needs and expectations. The design will include a large flat top grill where students will be able to see their meals being prepared. The university’s current main dining hall was built in 1977 for a residential student population of 1,600 but now serves more than 3,000 students daily.

While the housing and dining complex is being built, work will also begin on a $54 million renovation of the Science and Engineering Building, supported by $25 million in state funds. Together, these projects represent the first phase of Chancellor Robert E. Johnson’s plan to focus capital investment on the 710-acre UMass Dartmouth main campus, which has seen just one major state-funded building project, the Claire T. Carney Library renovation, since 1980. Future initiatives include renovation and modernization of academic buildings, the campus center, road infrastructure, and athletic facilities.

“Our students and our region will benefit from these investments in quality living and learning facilities that will prepare them to succeed in a rapidly changing, highly competitive global economy,” said UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Robert E. Johnson. “I am thankful for the support that we are receiving from the Baker-Polito Administration, President Meehan and our Board of Trustees, and our SouthCoast Legislative delegation, as we pursue our aspirations through this innovative and collaborative strategy. When combined with our first-rate faculty, these facilities will guarantee our students the private college educational experience and public university value they so deserve.”

The residence halls will be built through a public-private partnership between the university and Greystar, one of the largest collegiate housing developers and managers in the country. The partnership will allow the building of the new housing without any state taxpayer funds and will not add to the debt burden for the university.

The project construction will be led by Suffolk, which has built nine residential facilities on campus, including the 800-bed Pine Dale and Oak Glen halls, which opened in 2003, and the 1,200-bed Woodland apartment complex, which opened in 2005.

The project is being financed via the UMass Building Authority and designed by DiMella Shaffer, which has been recognized by ARCHITECT magazine as one of the “Top 50 Firms in Sustainability.”

“Through this public-private partnership, and our partners at Greystar and Suffolk, we’re transforming spaces where UMass Dartmouth students will live, learn, eat, and play,” said Randy Kreie, principal and president of DiMella Shaffer. “Our team has worked in collaboration with the university from the beginning and we are excited to deliver a facility that will meet the unique needs of their students and faculty for decades to come.”

The post UMass Dartmouth Breaks Ground on $134 Million Complex appeared first on School Construction News.