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UW Bothell & Cascadia College Debut Recreation Center

BOTHELL, Wash. — The University of Washington (UW) Bothell and Cascadia College (both located in Bothell) celebrated the grand opening of the new 36,000-square-foot Activities and Recreation Center (ARC) on Oct. 7. The $22 million facility was jointly funded using student activity fees from both institutions and is anticipated to become the hub of student life on the institutions’ shared Bothell campus.

The colorful ARC is broken up into three levels, each offering different areas for students to socialize, dine and exercise. On the lower level, the building features a fitness center, group exercise room and neon-orange lockers. Students can make their way up to the lime-green first floor afterwards for a post-workout snack or game. Food trucks, a video game alcove and gaming tables as well as meeting rooms, student leader offices and an information desk are also included. The bright-blue top floor features a multipurpose event and gathering space — complete with nine large TVs that form one screen — meeting room and student alcoves.

“As students at UW Bothell, we have the opportunity to build what there isn’t on campus,” said Dominick Juarez, president of the Associated Students of UW Bothell in a statement. “That usually means building clubs and programs to enrich the student experience. The Activities and Recreation Center will act as a catalyst in shifting us from a commuter student body to a communal one. We will be able to relax, study and collaborate to make positive change on our campus and throughout our community.”

Designed by LMN Architects and built by Skanska (both of which have offices in Seattle), ARC connects to the North Creek Events Center on its top floor and is situated adjacent to UW Bothell’s Sports and Recreation Complex, which opened in 2012. Green building was a key part of the project, with natural ventilation and sustainable building materials incorporated into the design. The main lobby, for instance, features a reception desk made from reclaimed wood. Four gender-neutral restrooms are also spread throughout the space.

Students had a major impact on the creation of ARC, which took several years to bring to fruition, according to Cascadia College Student Government President Elise Saracino. In fact, students who contributed to the building signed a support beam’s surface in the lobby, according to the Bothell Reporter.

“The Activities and Recreation Center isn’t just a new flashy building with bright colors. It’s so much more than that,” Saracino said in a statement. “This building has been discussed for a number of years — seven, to be exact — and to comprehend that this structure is a result of student contribution just goes to show how powerful our voices are.”

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New York High School Hastens Construction

NEW YORK — High graduation and college acceptance rates, along with a progressive curriculum infused with science and the arts, have made New York City’s Beacon High School quite popular. Less than two decades after opening on the city’s Upper West Side, the school maintained a population of 1,200 students, though it was designed for just 827. To continue offering the same high level of education, it was clear Beacon needed more space and upgraded amenities.

In August 2012, then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other school officials participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for the new and improved Beacon High School. The project will convert an existing 200,000-square-foot former public library building in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood into a modern, 232,000-square-foot facility for nearly 1,500 students. The New York City School Construction Authority purchased the library building, which then was used as storage, for $40 million in August 2011. When construction is complete, the current Beacon High School building will become the new West End Secondary School, serving grades 6-12.

Improving on the original school’s three-story design, which lacked a full size gym and sufficient classroom space, the new seven-story Beacon High School will include 50 classrooms, a spacious auditorium, a 7,500-square-foot gymnasium and a number of science and technology labs. It will also add specialized spaces such as an exercise/dance/weight training area, recording rooms, a black box theater, and choral and instrumental music spaces.

John Ciardullo & Associates of New York designed the new facility, which is being built by Skanska USA, headquartered in New York, for an estimated construction cost of $88 million. The design enlarged the building’s square footage and includes a two-story addition to accommodate the new gym and auditorium.

Designers also worked with AKRF of New York to develop ideal acoustics throughout the new school. Consultants from AKRF performed a detailed noise survey to determine acoustical performance requirements for the building’s façade and provided acoustical design recommendations for a number of the school’s recreational and performing arts spaces.

Beacon High School was originally slated for a September 2015 completion, and re-siting of West End Secondary School can only commence once Beacon has vacated its soon-to-be-former home. This construction schedule allowed just one week between completion and the beginning of classes. Concerned the tight turnaround would delay the start of classes Community Education Council 3 members issued a letter to Deputy Chancellor of the New York Department of Education Kathleen Grimm and President of the New York City School Construction Authority Lorraine Grillo last month urging them to speed up construction.

“This scheduling would adversely affect the 1,300-plus families of Beacon High School students and likely the 100-plus families at the new West End Secondary School, as well as the entire District 3 community,” Second Vice President of the District 3 Community Education Council Noah E. Gotbaum wrote to Grimm and Grillo on Dec. 9.

The project has since been fast-tracked with a new anticipated completion date sometime in August 2015. Though hastening construction of the college preparatory school will result in added costs, the School Construction Authority has declined to disclose a specific price tag.

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WSU’s Clean Tech Building Anticipates 2015 Opening

PULLMAN, Wash. — Washington State University has broken ground the new, state-of-the-art Clean Technology Laboratory Building. The 96,000-square-foot, $52.8 million facility will eventually contain the school’s science and engineering programs, and provide a space for students and researchers to tackle a variety of global and environmental challenges.

“This is truly a great day for us as we celebrate the official launch of the first major construction project for our college in decades,” said Candis Claiborn, dean of the WSU College of Engineering and Architecture. ”The impact of the Clean Technology Laboratory Building will be immediate and significant. The transitional research that will take place in this space will address some of society’s grand challenges around energy and environment.”

Upon completion, the glass and brick Clean Technology Laboratory Building will house both basic and applied science and engineering programs, and will provide top quality research facilities for faculty and students on all levels. According to the university, that research and instruction will focus on sustainable design and infrastructure; air and water quality research; and advanced materials research emphasizing renewable energy. At the March groundbreaking, WSU Interim Provost Daniel Bernardo added that the new laboratory would also be used to develop new materials that are more environmentally friendly and economically sustainable.

Alongside classrooms, offices and student lounges, the interdisciplinary facility will also include research laboratories serving the Composite Materials and Engineering Center, the Laboratory for Atmospheric Research, and Civil and Environmental Engineering. In addition, the building will contain common support areas, specialized core laboratories and conference areas.

Though related, science and engineering programs are often separated in university settings, as is the current case at WSU. According to the university, many undergraduate- and graduate-level students studying these related fields are hampered by the separate and aging engineering and science facilities currently available. This new facility will likely help set WSU apart.

"Providing these modern facilities is going to be critical for recruiting the best faculty, and for attracting the brightest students, the majority of which stay in the state after they’ve graduated," Dean Claiborn added in an interview with KLEW TV after the groundbreaking.

LMN Architects and Skanska USA collaborated on the design-build proposal for the Clean Technology Laboratory Building, which will open in October 2015. PAE Consulting Engineers, Inc., Sparling, Inc. and Coughlin Porter Lundeen, Inc. will also provide engineering expertise.

According to Dave Harrison, senior vice president of of Skanska USA, this level of collaboration and communication between design and construction partners is a great advantage to the project. “By working together as one team, the contractor, architect and key engineering partners can identify constructability issues in the design well before they become an issue in the field,” Harrison wrote in the Daily Journal of Commerce.

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UF Opens Clinical & Translational Research Building

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida’s (UF) Clinical and Translational Research Building recently opened in Gainesville. The five-story, 120,000-square-foot building serves as the headquarters for the clinical and translational research at the university, as well as the state at large. The building houses the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and the UF Institute on Aging, as well as other research groups studying topics such as biostatistics, epidemiology, Muscular Dystrophy and Health Outcomes and Policy.
Perkins+Will’s Miami office served as the architect, while New York-headquartered Skanska served as the construction manager.
The new research facility is one of two like it in the country. It encourages collaborative study by incorporating three main components: health care, education and research. The design team worked with the university’s administration in order to fulfill the project goals such as creating environments that propel innovative, interdisciplinary research and discoveries; interfacing with the community through education; developing a space that is adaptable, flexible and modular; and providing a variety of indoor and outdoor interactive healing environments.
“The overall goal of the project was to create a building that would allow for the functions of translational research and allow for its flexibility along with its functions, meaning a building that would have to be ultimately configurable. It has a module-based design so that it can accommodate different kinds of needs regarding the Clinical and Translational Science Institute and how it relates to the Institute of Aging,” said Pat Bosch, LEED AP, design director with the Perkins+Will Miami office. “It was important to the client and to us that the building foster researchers’ goals of shortening the time from laboratory discovery to bedside treatment.”
The building was designed to achieve LEED Platinum, allowing the building to speak to the research being conducted inside. Natural elements heavily influenced the building’s design. For instance, a glass curtain wall reflects and refracts the area’s large amounts of sunlight. A solar photovoltaic system provides 8 percent to 12 percent of the building’s electricity. Rainwater is also collected to provide irrigation to the landscaping and to terrace planters, as well as to flush the latrines throughout the facilities. Displacement ventilation systems help keep the building cool while limiting the need for air conditioning.
“We learned a lot about the nature of translational research,” Bosch said. “You rarely get to have those three components merged into one. [The facility] is truly innovating by merging programs and disciplines and having the ability to allow for academia research and health care to all coexist and turn into this incubator of potential solutions to age old.”
The building’s location right next to an existing cogeneration plant posed acoustical challenges and vision challenges. The courtyard shields the building from the acoustics of the plant. The design team used strategies with glass and self-shading devices to help with those challenges. Skanska delivered successfully on time on budget, Bosch said.
“The Institute on Aging has always been dedicated to improving the health and preserving the independence of older adults and this wonderfully sustainable new facility will help that mission,” said Dr. Marco Pahor, director of the Institute on Aging, in a statement. “We are pleased that the IOA’s initial construction grant from the NIH has led to this multidisciplinary facility where researchers and clinicians from diverse fields can work together in an environment that promotes wellness.”

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