DPR Construction Archives - School Construction News https://schoolconstructionnews.com Design - Construction - Operations Mon, 24 Jul 2023 17:37:08 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.7.11 UC Riverside Debuts New Plant-Based Research Facility https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2023/08/01/uc-riverside-debuts-new-plant-based-research-facility/ Tue, 01 Aug 2023 11:30:14 +0000 https://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=51716 Things are certainly growing at the University of California, Riverside.

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By Eric Althoff

RIVERSIDE, Calif.—Things are certainly growing at the University of California, Riverside. Designer Perkins&Will and general contractor DPR Construction, along with personnel from UCR, recently gathered in celebration of a new state-of-the-art greenhouse and agricultural research building for UCR’s College of Natural and Agricultural Sciences (CNAS).

This two-story, 30,000-square-foot greenhouse project will allow CNAS faculty and students to conduct growth studies and learn more about feeding an expanding population. Some of the early work undertaken there entails investigating how bees pollinate flowers in different environments as well as testing how rice can be made to be more resistant to floods and drought conditions that are only becoming more dire as the planet warms. Other research will be undertaken to examine how climate-control tech can be applied to serve various other agricultural needs.

The architectural design features a serrated concrete wall on the lower level that can help regulate shifts in internal temperature more naturally rather than relying on HVAC exclusively. The main level offers specific rooms for potting, growth chambers as well as breakrooms. The facility’s second level features 16 individual greenhouse modules that can be customized for specific studies and research.

“I’m thrilled about the amazing work being facilitated in the new CNAS Plant Research building,” said Jessica Orlando, associate principal and higher education practice leader at Perkins&Will Los Angeles. “Our team feels so privileged to have contributed to the delivery of a functional, high-performance building that also creates a stunning design that pays homage to UC Riverside’s rich campus fabric.”

Perkins&Will personnel took as inspiration for their design motif the nearby greenhouses, whose gables were reproduced in a new way for the upper glass roof of the Plant Research building. Meanwhile, the structure employs minimal use of concrete, glass and steel in a nod to more eco-conscious development. Furthermore, each upper-level greenhouse is wrapped in double-pane polarized glass, allowing observers to watch experimenters at work.

Climate control for each individual greenhouse module can be manipulated to simulate a variety of different weather settings and levels of humidity. A large evaporative cooling system works for the entire building, and researchers also can modulate the amount of natural light entering into each individual module.

“It was important for us to couple practical functionality and the aesthetic roots of the surrounding greenhouses with the college’s forward-looking spirit and focus on scientific innovation,” said August Miller, senior designer at Perkins&Will. “This ultimately translated to a series of greenhouse modules, each its own independent laboratory, at the upper level.”

Added Yan Krymsky, design director of Perkins&Will’s Los Angeles studio: “It’s really a machine, a tool for research. But beyond that, we wanted to create a structure that spoke to the legacy of the university.”

The CNAS sits on a part of the UCR campus formerly occupied by older greenhouses. In fact, the school originally started out as University of California Citrus Experiment Station in 1907, eventually changing to UCR.

Perkins&Will was founded in 1935 and employs over 2,000 people in 20 studios around the world. The firm’s Los Angeles studio is located in the heart of the historic downtown.

 

 

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Community College Science Building Targets Fall Launch in SoCal https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2022/07/05/community-college-science-building-targets-fall-launch-in-socal/ Tue, 05 Jul 2022 11:08:33 +0000 https://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=50673 Glendale Mayor Ardy Kassakhian and other civic leaders signed their names to the final beam set into place atop Glendale Community College District’s New Science Building (SCI), which will be ready to welcome students in the fall of 2023. 

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By Eric Althoff

GLENDALE, Calif.—Glendale Mayor Ardy Kassakhian and other civic leaders signed their names to the final beam set into place atop Glendale Community College District’s New Science Building (NSB), which will be ready to welcome students in the fall of 2023.

The $90 million building is needed, considering that the community college will be welcoming a larger student body in the years to come, particularly in the scientific fields.

Over five stories of space, the NSB will serve the greater GCC community student body in both the physical and biological sciences.  The 116,000-square-foot facility will feature a 125-seat lecture hall, 31 science laboratories, faculty offices, as well as dedicated learning and instruction space for such fields of study as chemistry, biology, oceanography, geology and biotech.  The new laboratories are designed to adhere to educational chemistry safety standards set forth by the American Chemical Society.

The NSB will also connect to other campus structures, including the Camino Real, San Gabriel and Health Sciences buildings.

The venue is replacing smaller facilities spread out across multiple structures, including the San Gabriel, Arroyo Seco and Camino Real buildings.  By bringing all of these instruction capabilities together under one roof, Glendale Community College will be better able to refine its focus on STEM education and scientific research.

HMC Architects designed the NSB.  General contractor DPR Construction and Gafcon were on hand at the recent topping-out ceremony, and will continue to oversee the construction efforts at the site.

In a statement sent to School Construction News, DPR Construction said that working on a hilly site such as this one, in the foothills of Southern California’s San Gabriel Mountains, required managing a creative flow of both workers and materials.

“The beautiful Glendale Community College campus flows down a hillside.  However, this topography makes it difficult to carve out enough flat land to build compared to open, flat campuses,” DPR’s statement said.  “To prepare the New Science Building footprint, we built a large shoring wall and removed thousands of cubic yards of material.”

Much of the funding for the new building came from Measure GC, a bond program passed in 2016 by Glendale voters to upgrade several buildings across Glendale Community College’s various campuses.

Under the current construction timeline, most of the construction work will be completed next July, and be ready for students to move in for classes in the fall of 2023.

DPR Construction is headquartered in Northern California’s Redwood City.  Their other educational projects in the Golden State include work at CSU Long Beach and UC Santa Cruz.

 

 

 

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LPA Wins AIA Design Award for California School Expansion https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2020/12/07/lpa-wins-aia-design-award-for-california-school-expansion/ Mon, 07 Dec 2020 13:21:28 +0000 http://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=49031 LPA recently won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects (national) Educational Facility Design Awards for the design of Tarbut V’Torah’s expansion.

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By SCN Staff

IRVINE, Calif.—LPA recently won an Award of Excellence from the American Institute of Architects (national) Educational Facility Design Awards for the design of Tarbut V’Torah’s expansion. Only six projects in the country received this recognition.

Completed in 2018, this project was an effort to modernize the campus and re-establish the school’s prominence in Irvine, Calif. The total cost for lower school construction and upper school STEAM building was $25 million.

The campus expansion was part of a new strategic plan developed by the school’s trustees to grow the student body and re-establish Tarbut V’Torah as a premier independent school. LPA worked closely with the school’s administration and community to co-develop a program that responds to the school’s vision of future-ready learning environments.

The expansion of the campus included the addition of three new buildings—a maker building, a STEAM building, and a fitness building, in addition to outdoor learning environments. LPA’s engineers, designers and landscape architects worked with school leaders and students to develop spaces that address the social and emotional aspects of students, as well as the academic.

The school’s flexible learning environments allow for hands-on, project-based learning, indoors and out. Classrooms with glass walls open to the expansive views of the scenic Southern California community. A quad adjacent to the new buildings includes small group pods, an amphitheater and stage, evening performance lighting, a lunch terrace, an 18-foot-long concrete work bench table and a roof top huddle deck.

DPR Construction was the general contractor on this impressive project.

 

 

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Arizona State Breaks Ground on Multipurpose Tower https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2020/03/16/arizona-state-breaks-ground-on-multipurpose-tower/ Mon, 16 Mar 2020 14:00:23 +0000 http://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=48086 In partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), established architecture, and planning firm Studio Ma has announced the groundbreaking of the new ASU Downtown Phoenix Residence Hall and Entrepreneurial Center, a 16-floor residential tower with academic and interdisciplinary facilities.

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By SCN Staff

PHOENIX—In partnership with Arizona State University (ASU), established architecture, and planning firm Studio Ma has announced the groundbreaking of the new ASU Downtown Phoenix Residence Hall and Entrepreneurial Center, a 16-floor residential tower with academic and interdisciplinary facilities. The innovation hub’s unique design expands community living space for up to 530 students and assists visiting professionals to connect organically with the city and regional business community through large windows and an urban paseo.

The new, 284,000-square-foot building also creates a resource platform supporting creative ventures among students, faculty, and alumni with local artists, businesses, and government agencies.

Studio Ma earned the commission through a highly competitive process led by Capstone Development Partners, a national leader in student housing development and management. Studio Ma was recognized and selected for its “committed leadership, familiarity with the university and market, and ability to push the envelope on design and sustainability while maintaining all budget and performance parameters.” Rounding out the project team is DPR Construction, another longtime partner of Arizona State University, as the design-build provider.

Drawing on deep experience with diverse institutions, including Cranbrook, Princeton, and Washington University in St. Louis, Studio Ma’s work presents students and faculty with a new way of working in the arts and design. Scheduled to open in the fall of 2021, the transformative downtown complex will set the stage for the university to cultivate new entrepreneurship research.

Employing an innovative design concept that brings academic space and student housing under one roof, the team envisaged a 16-story innovation hub concept consisting of 13 floors of student housing above three levels of academic space. The innovation hub will be wrapped in a bioclimatic façade designed to minimize energy use and glare from the desert sun, conceived with simulation software that Studio Ma is beta-testing in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The angular façade in ultra-high-performance concrete and metal panels and floor-to-ceiling windows—materials also used for the residential tower exteriors establishes a striking and memorable icon for the city.

Yet the ASU Downtown Phoenix Residence Hall is more than a multi-purpose facility. The team also met challenging zoning and infill site conditions with an innovative massing and layout that offers a valuable east-west pedestrian paseo connecting the community to the new complex.

In addition to helping the university meet a minimum green-building rating level of LEED Silver, the new building optimizes indoor environmental quality in all spaces including high-tech fabrication rooms and studio areas where sensitive materials and equipment are used. Geared toward such academic programs as industrial design, fashion and popular music, the innovation hub consolidates a range of entrepreneurial and community-focused programs from across ASU’s Herberger Institute of Design & the Arts. Entrepreneurial center facilities include a mix of studios, classrooms, offices, exhibition and event spaces, as well as fabrication and workshop areas with specialized equipment and environmental systems.

The work promises to make Phoenix among the first U.S. cities with a university activated downtown space dedicated to collaboration across creative fields, organizations and market sectors, according to the project team. “The Studio Ma team rolled up their sleeves along with our design-build partners to create an innovative and sustainable building design, that involved multiple constituents and stakeholders, while optimizing the project budget and being steadfast in maintaining the schedule, despite evolving project and program requirements,” says William Davis, executive vice president of Capstone Development Partners, the public-private partnership (P3) developer.

Other recent works by Studio Ma for Arizona State University have included the award-winning conceptual design for ISTB-7, the 258,000-square-foot, interdisciplinary science and research complex designed as a triple-net-zero facility and lauded as “a new generation of sustainable design solutions that are climate responsive and employ regenerative technologies.” The architecture firm has also led Arizona State University’s designs for various major campus transformations, including their Sun Devil Fitness Complex and the acclaimed Memorial Union Plaza student complex.

The groundbreaking for ASU Downtown Phoenix Residence Hall and Entrepreneurial Center also heralds the arrival of next-generation sustainable construction on university campuses, showcasing Studio Ma’s capacity to design for a greener, more resilient future. The result is a thriving hub of enterprise at Arizona State University and an environmentally attuned showplace for students, the local creative economy, and entrepreneur development.

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California Student Complex on Target for 2021 Completion https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2020/01/23/california-student-complex-on-target-for-2021-completion/ Thu, 23 Jan 2020 14:00:16 +0000 http://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=47909 With a completion date slated for July 2021, construction continues on the Emerson Hall redevelopment project at University of California, Davis.

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By Lisa Kopochinski

DAVIS, Calif.—With a completion date slated for July 2021, construction continues on the Emerson Hall redevelopment project at University of California, Davis.

DPR Construction is the general contractor on this $109 million design-build project that began in mid-2019 with architecture firm HKS, Inc. Included is a new, three-building, ground-up student housing complex with a bed count between 749 to 809 beds.

The bedrooms will have double and triple room arrangements and include bathrooms. The three buildings will also include common rooms, residence assistant apartments, lounges, recreation rooms, an Advising Center, community space, a community kitchen, music room, maintenance shops and laundry facilities.

Features of Emerson Hall include double-occupancy rooms. All rooms are part of a “suite” configuration, which are similar to full apartments, but without a kitchen. The suites are arranged off the corridor and open into a foyer.

Room dimensions are approximately 220 square feet. Two-bedroom (4 occupant) suites have one bathroom; and three-bedroom (6 occupant) suites have 2 bathrooms. Emerson Hall will have two laundry rooms; the smaller laundry room has 6 washing machines and 6 dryers while the larger has 16 washing machines and 16 dryers.

DPR Construction has also partnered with Digital Building Components on this project to deliver non-combustible, light gauge cold-formed, load-bearing structures. The use of DBC has allowed the team to change the buildings from Type V/III wood-framed construction to a Type II steel-framed building. This allows the three buildings to be connected, improving egress and allowing social balconies between the buildings.

This project is required to be LEED Silver certified, but is targeting for LEED Gold.

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Sacramento High School Science Center on Target for 2020 Debut https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2019/09/11/sacramento-high-school-science-center-on-target-for-2020-debut/ Wed, 11 Sep 2019 14:34:37 +0000 http://schoolconstructionnews.com/?p=47407 Earlier this year, the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) in Sacramento, Calif. held a ceremonial groundbreaking for Mira Loma High School’s new $26.4 million generation science wing.

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By Lisa Kopochinski

SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Earlier this year, the San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD) in Sacramento, Calif. held a ceremonial groundbreaking for Mira Loma High School’s new $26.4 million generation science wing. Mira Loma High is an award-winning International Baccalaureate (IB) school.

SJUSD faculty, students and the surrounding community, with architect firm Lionakis, and DPR Construction, general contractor on the project, dug into the staff parking lot with their golden shovels and hard hats to commence the construction of this highly anticipated building.

Construction management firm ICS is overseeing the project in conjunction with San Juan Unified staff.

The two-story science center—which is being funded by Measure N—will span approximately 32,000 square feet and include next-generation biology, chemistry, physics and earth science classrooms, as well as a flexible learning space and outdoor learning environment. The new building will replace the existing science labs from the 1960s, in support of a campus that boasts a nationally ranked Science Olympiad team and a rigorous International Baccalaureate program.

The project will include the installation of rooftop and carport-style photovoltaics. The use of dynamic glass for shading and security concerns is part of the program, as is the concept of “science on display” where the building is also used as a teaching tool and an opportunity to share science concepts throughout.

Hundreds of students, staff and community members also signed their name onto a steel beam that will be installed onto the frame of the new building.

“I think it’s nice that we get to sign this beam, and then all the students will have their name in this building forever,” said Mira Loma sophomore Andy Chittenden.

Frank Camarda, San Juan Unified Assistant Superintendent of Facilities, Maintenance and Transportation, said the building is on track to open by August 2020, in time for the next school year.

“It’s really exciting to see the project come to life. We’ve spent a lot of time doing sitework, so this part, where you see the vertical construction is really exciting.”

Added Science Department Chair James Hill, “It really is a great thing for our campus to actually see it being built.”

The signed steel beam is the final piece that will be installed and will be celebrated by the construction crew with what is known as a “topping out ceremony” where it will be swung into place with an American Flag attached to it.

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5 Phoenix-Area School Construction Projects Greet Returning Students https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2016/08/18/5-phoenix-area-school-construction-projects-greet-returning-students/ Thu, 18 Aug 2016 18:27:02 +0000 PHOENIX — For the 2016-17 school year, students at several Phoenix-area schools are heading back to newly constructed buildings, according to The Arizona Republic.

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PHOENIX — With the start of the 2016-17 school year, students at several Phoenix-area schools are heading back to newly constructed buildings, according to The Arizona Republic. Here’s a roundup of five major school construction projects helping to change the face of local education for the 2016-2017 school year:

Laird Elementary School: The school added two grade levels in 2009, prompting the construction of a new building to accommodate a larger student body. It was rebuilt thanks to area voters who authorized a 2009 bond to pay for construction, and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony was held on July 28 following the building’s completion. The new Laird Elementary Schools features 28 classrooms as well as two labs for art and science. DLR Group, with offices in Phoenix, served as the architect on the project, while Mesa, Ariz.-based Concord General Contracting served as the construction manager at-risk, according to the project website.

Westwood High School: Construction on a new $9.6 million classroom building for Westwood High began last fall. The 86,000-square-foot building, which was completed July 1, features 25 classrooms, a media center and a culinary classroom. The design incorporates four massive W shapes that blend into the project and provide structural support, according to East Valley Tribune.

Empower Collegiate Academy: The charter high school welcomed students back to a new facility earlier this month after construction was completed earlier this summer. Beginning with a 130-student freshman class, the school will add a grade level each year until reaching its 500-student capacity. Empower Collegiate Academy was established in 2012 for third through eighth grades, so the construction of the high school was a logical next step in seeing students through to graduation.

Arizona Autism Charter Schools: The school system renovated an existing building, which opened Aug. 8, to serve as a school for older students with autism. In its first year, 55 students in fifth through seventh grades will occupy the new building, adding one grade level each academic year until reaching grade 12.

Esperanza Elementary School: Currently two-thirds completed, a massive revamp of the elementary school will address safety and security issues as well as energy conservation when it is finished this winter. It will also feature additional square footage for classroom expansions.

 

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BenU’s New School of Business Anchors Campus https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2015/12/16/benu-s-new-school-business-anchors-campus/ LISLE, Ill. — The new Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business opened at Benedictine University (BenU) in Lisle. The Chicago office of DLR Group designed the new 125,000-square-foot facility, which is now the largest classroom building on campus.

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LISLE, Ill. — The new Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business opened at Benedictine University (BenU) in Lisle. The Chicago office of DLR Group designed the new 125,000-square-foot facility, which is now the largest classroom building on campus.

School Construction News spoke with DLR Group Designer Scott Swanson about the project and its significance for the campus.

Q: What was the main goal of the project?

Swanson: Over the past 20 years, BenU has experienced exponential growth. Transforming from roughly 1,500 to more than 10,000 students, BenU has had to sustain and recreate itself to keep up with the changing needs of students. The vision for Daniel L. Goodwin Hall of Business was born out of the growth and global reach that BenU and the College of Business has celebrated for years. A dedicated place was needed to continue providing educational development for both the college and the university as a whole. Aside from offering 21 additional learning environments on campus, offices for the undergraduate, graduate and doctoral programs now have a home within the building. The facility also provides additional amenities for students, faculty and visitors, including a 600-person auditorium, a state-of-the-art trading lab and a large conference or banquet room overlooking campus.

Q: How will the new facility enhance partnerships with international corporations?

Swanson: The future of BenU is very bright. Technology and modern educational spaces within the Hall of Business building will assist the development of students who enter business programs. Plus, the facility creates opportunities for instantaneous connections with corporations or universities around the world. Through this interaction, the university will extend its reach further than ever before.

DLR Group designed a Center for Corporate Partnership (CCP), which includes an Executive Partner’s Suite, to bring local and worldwide businesses to campus for collaborative teaching and learning sessions. These spaces are primarily focused on development of undergraduate- and graduate-level students. The CCP is designed to host a variety of events like career fairs; student organizations; event management; hoteling for local, national and international businesses; and public or private events. For example, the Competency Assessment Room in this area is a multipurpose room for corporate employers, student-run business events, video coaching and project team rehearsals.

Q: What are some of the project’s key design elements?

Swanson: To express a global feel, the building needed to have a certain presence that showcased the future of BenU, while simultaneously respecting the history and tradition of the existing built environment. The Hall of Business is designed to contextually unite adjacent buildings and serve as a backdrop for the new Quad — an expanse of grass, plants and trees, benches, sidewalks and landmark-style lamps.

The interior spaces are strategically designed to promote flexibility, scalability, mobility and adaptability. Classrooms are designed with no limitations, and collaboration flows through the air media system, allowing every student to connect and share their work digitally and wirelessly. The 600-person auditorium gives the university a space unlike any other on campus. Tiered seating is focused toward a material-rich stage and surround that can be used for guest speakers, digital media experiences or an instructional lecture for students.

One of the most important and exciting spaces is the main lobby. This two-story volume gives an incredible first impression of what visitors might expect throughout the building. Porcelain tile floors, stone and wood walls, backlit glass, full-color scrolling stock tickers and a large-scale TV wall are a few of the features to welcome students and visitors to the space. This area also serves as the major connector throughout the building. An open-feature stair leads to the second level, where a full-service Starbucks and student lounges can be found. At this level, a sky bridge connects to the adjacent building that holds additional offices and classrooms, as well as the campus library.

Q: What challenges did the project encounter, and how did your team navigate them?

Swanson: The biggest challenge was to ensure the vision was maintained while aligning the scope, schedule and budget. To achieve this, DLR Group designers worked diligently with the university’s Department of Planning and Construction along with International Contractor’s Inc., who acted as the construction manager. Having all of the parties actively involved allowed our team to strategize and adjust as needed to extract the most informed and successful solutions through the process.

Q: What green or sustainable elements were included in the design?

Swanson: Our design features an array of sustainable elements, including bio-filtration rain gardens for stormwater treatment; a chilled beam system for low-energy consumption; renewable and recycled content in the finishes; natural daylight in learning environments; and LED light fixtures for energy efficiency.
 

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Q&A: Bismarck’s Newest High School Design https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2015/09/09/q-bismarck-s-newest-high-school-design/ BISMARCK, N.D. — Recent student enrollment growth in Bismarck required the city to open a third high school in time for the 2015-2016 school year. DLR Group designed the facility along with locally based J2 Architects, the associate architect on the project.

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BISMARCK, N.D. — Recent student enrollment growth in Bismarck required the city to open a third high school in time for the 2015-2016 school year. DLR Group designed the facility along with locally based J2 Architects, the associate architect on the project. The new Legacy High School is not only designed to accommodate 1,200 students, but also to reflect the district’s commitment to health and wellness. School Construction News spoke with Chris Gibbs, principal at DLR Group’s Minneapolis office, about the project and its innovative design methods.

Q: What was the project’s primary goal?

Gibbs: Based on unprecedented growth in Bismarck Public Schools, a third high school was developed to meet the needs of this growing North Dakota community. Our design creates a flexible and collaborative environment to meet the ever-changing needs of 21st century learners. In order to make the building more learner-friendly, the facility provides two student learning communities (SLCs) with exploratory labs and collaboration rooms designed with interdisciplinary active learning in mind. Incubator spaces for student-run businesses along the upper- and lower-level Marketplace allow students to apply their curriculum to real-life scenarios and create opportunities for partnership with local businesses.

Q: What are some of the project’s key design elements?

Gibbs: The three-story Marketplace, which is the main organizing element of the building, is a multi-activity zone flanked by food service, a café and deli stations; centralized counseling and administration; concessions; and ticketing. It links the academic, athletic and performance spaces. Exploratory Labs designed to showcase the academic focus of each SLC open up to the Marketplace with a high level of transparency to allow observation of activities. Core classrooms and labs flank open, flexible spaces that provide areas for small-group, project-based and applied-learning scenarios. The SLCs flank a three-story glass curtain wall, framing the 50-yard-line view of the school’s new football field and reflecting the district’s commitment to health and wellness.

Q: Were any new technologies included in the design?

Gibbs: A comprehensive wireless network encourages students and staff to use the variety of spaces available both within the SLC and throughout the school. High-definition monitors and projection equipment located throughout the building encourage individual learning as well as group sharing. Technology-focused flexible furniture in a variety of configurations promotes interdisciplinary connections. A student run e-counter offers tech support for students and staff as the district transitions to electronic media on portable devices.

Q: What student or staff feedback did you receive during the design process?

Gibbs: Throughout the master planning and project design processes, hundreds of students, staff, administration and community members were involved in providing key input and feedback. During the design phase, DLR Group led six design charrettes with a core team of 12 administrators, students and staff to establish specific design goals for the new high school. The interactive planning and design process led to a holistic design solution that represents the values of the Bismarck community and created 21st century learning environments for the next generation of students attending Bismarck Public Schools. This is a shift from the traditional didactic, departmentalized structure of their current facilities.

Q: How does this project differ from those DLR Group has completed in the past?

Gibbs: The new Legacy High School embodies the guiding principles articulated by the district to create an environment that is student-centered, highly collaborative, interdisciplinary, transparent and active. The flexible and adaptable spaces provided throughout the facility will meet the variety of needs of 21st century learners by allowing students and staff to easily adapt to work individually, in small groups or in larger groups. The technology infrastructure and the furniture allow those interactions to be technology rich or technology free — depending on the specific needs of the curriculum and the learner. Every space in the building is designed with “multi-purposality” to allow the physical environment to seamlessly adapt to the needs of learners. The building balances the desire for interior transparency with the need for a safe and secure environment through strategic interior glass placement that promotes meaningful relationships between students and staff.

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Q&A: Planning University Sports Facilities https://schoolconstructionnews.com/2015/08/12/q-planning-university-sports-facilities/ Collegiate stadiums and arenas play host to pivotal moments in the lives of student-athletes and serve as a gathering place for fans and members of the broader community. They can even help ensure continued alumni involvement and support the development of college and university sports dynasties.

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Collegiate stadiums and arenas play host to pivotal moments in the lives of student-athletes and serve as a gathering place for fans and members of the broader community. They can even help ensure continued alumni involvement and support the development of college and university sports dynasties.

Global design firm DLR Group, which serves clients from 23 locations around the world, has led design efforts for a number of highly regarded collegiate sports facilities since 1987. The firm has in recent years completed the 16,000 seat Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln, Neb., which serves the University of Nebraska women’s and men’s basketball teams; TDECU football stadium for the University of Houston in Houston; PK Park baseball stadium at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Ore.; and Louisiana State University’s 8,550-seat Alex Box Stadium in Baton Rouge, La., among others.

School Construction News spoke with DLR Group Design Principal Greg Garlock, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, and the firm’s National Sports Leader Don Barnum, AIA, about what it takes to design a sports facility that will keep athletes motivated and fans engaged, all while ensuring operational ease and financial success.

Q: What is the most common challenge you encounter during the design of a stadium or arena?

Barnum: One of the key drivers in designing a stadium or arena is how everybody watches the game. The seating bowl, the suites, loge boxes, club spaces — how all of that gets put together is the basis of our job and our responsibility. While that’s a challenge, it’s also an opportunity for great design. All of those premium products have a certain amount of revenue that they generate. We have to make sure that we can build the facility within the amount of money that it’s going to pay back, and that the return on investment (ROI) actually makes sense for the incorporation of those premium products.

Garlock: Another challenge is that many of these facilities become quite large. When we’re talking about a 50,000-seat football stadium or 12,000-seat arena, trying to balance the need to have a capacity like that and create an intimate atmosphere in which people feel close to the action is sometimes a challenge.

Then there’s the magnitude and size of some of these facilities in terms of how they will fit on a campus and not overwhelm their surroundings. We have to look at a number of options to make sure we’re achieving the best blend of all those factors.

Q: Have you noticed any recent design trends specific to collegiate stadiums and arenas?

Garlock: One thing that has really become very prevalent is that these facilities have much stronger connections to their communities, campuses and overall settings. It used to be that these tended to be standalone, inward-looking facilities that really didn’t connect to anything around them. That’s really been flipped completely around in the last several years where we as architects now look long and hard at the campus and community in terms of what is special about that place that we can incorporate in our design. It has created considerably better architecture and friendlier facilities, and made them much more unique and responsive to the owners’ needs.

Barnum: Additionally, what keeps growing is the appetite for premium products. The suites keep getting bigger and nicer, and every building has created some new idea that sets the quality of their product apart from their peers. The reason that’s important is that many universities are competing with other venues in and around their own cities. At the University of Houston, their football stadium is competing for disposable income with professional football and baseball stadiums and other arenas, so they have to be competitive not just with their fellow collegiate institutions but also within their marketplace.

Also, the whole audiovisual aspect of game entertainment is growing. The size of video boards is just unbelievable; they are truly entertainment devices. The game content can also be tied into personal devices as part of the overall entertainment package. The use of smartphones and other devices is driving the entertainment that is produced in the facility. How the fans interact with the event and the institution begins to inform the physical design of the facilities.

Garlock: Fans can just as easily watch the game on their 80-inch big screen television at home with air conditioning, drinks and food, so these facilities and institutions are trying to create experiences that draw people in. We’re helping them develop additional ways to keep it new and exciting, and to create these fantastic environments that people want to be a part of not just once but many times a season. That’s really a challenge for many universities and programs: To keep raising the bar in order to create the best game day experience possible.

Read more of this interview in the September/October issue of School Construction News.

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