While the 54-year-old Sharples Dining Hall is a campus landmark, the beloved facility has become too small to comfortably house the student body.

By converting the existing dining hall into a community commons space, DLR Group aims to generate enhanced opportunities for socialization between students, staff and faculty. The design will respect the historic character while elevating student life for future generations, according to DLR Group. A diverse range of spaces will be available for use, from individual study, to small group or large team activities, and integrated technology will allow for continuous connectivity throughout the building.

The new 800-900 seat dining hall will be designed with input from students, faculty and staff, according to DLR Group, and will offer a modern culinary experience. Together, the new dining hall and community commons will serve as a hub of activity and a cornerstone for social gathering on campus.

DLR Group will execute a comprehensive, 360-degree view engagement process to ensure all stakeholders have a voice in the project. The process includes campus immersion by the planning and design team via student, faculty, staff, and administration interviews, student focus groups, town hall meetings, and campus workshops.

In addition, DLR Group will research and explore various sustainable options to meet the College’s desire for a net zero solution, including energy reduction and production. Swarthmore’s existing 425-acre arboretum campus, which features rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails, will also influence the final design. DLR Group will use complementary materials and preserve the natural landscape surrounding the facilities.

The project is funded in large part by a 2013 gift from Giles “Gil” Kemp, Swarthmore College Class of 1972, and Barbara Guss. Design work begins immediately and construction will be completed in two phases. Construction is scheduled to begin in summer 2020 with a grand opening in fall 2022.

“DLR Group is deeply honored to be selected as the College’s design partner to transform campus life. This project touches every individual on campus and reflects the institution’s culture of embracing sustainability, diversity, and inclusiveness at its very core,” said Stu Rothenberger, AIA, DLR Group Global Higher Education Leader. “We look forward to engaging and collaborating with the entire campus community to explore what is possible as we push the boundaries of sustainable design.”

The post Swarthmore Tags DLR Group for Dining Hall and Commons Project appeared first on School Construction News.

A $1 million grant to the college from Knife River Corporation and MDU Construction Services Group, both headquartered in Bismarck, N.D., will help establish the MDU Resources Group Construction Safety Laboratory. The lab will replicate real-world jobsites and simulate worker activity to examine potential hazards.

Construction is a traditionally dangerous profession, placing workers at risk for falls, electrocution and other injuries. The new laboratory at OSU will be able to simulate some of these jobsite situations, helping to identify safer ways to work while also studying improved productivity and minimizing costs, according to a statement by the university. When complete, it will include an interactive, high-definition projection system through which university researchers will conduct sample work operations without actually putting workers at risk for injury. A connected driving simulator will help evaluate driver and worker actions as vehicles pass through a work zone.

“This lab establishes us as the principal national facility for construction and transportation safety research and education,” said Dean and Kearney Professor of Engineering at the OSU College of Engineering Scott Ashford, in a statement.
“We’re delighted to partner with Knife River and MDU Construction Services Group on this critically important project. These two companies are industry leaders in safety, and their commitment to our program will allow us to further advance processes and technologies that will help to better prevent workplace injuries.”

“This project provides a virtual environment where industry and academia can work together on real-world solutions,” added Jeff Thiede, president and CEO of MDU Construction Services Group, in a statement.

The project expands on an earlier OSU initiative to improve worker safety, emphasizing prevention through design. This approach prioritizes safety from the design stage to make buildings, bridges, roadways and other structures safer both to build and to maintain, according to a statement by the university.

“There’s a long history in the construction industry of architects and design engineers leaving construction safety up to the builder or contractor, saying it wasn’t really the designer’s concern,” said John Gambatese, an OSU professor of civil engineering, in a statement. “Some of this dates historically to the separation between owner, architect, contractor, maintenance and construction worker. There are also legal and liability issues. But there are many ways we can improve construction safety with this approach.”

The post Oregon State University Targets Construction Safety appeared first on School Construction News.