PORTLAND, Ore.—A recent transformation at Portland State University has given new life to an outdated structure, infusing a 1960s venue with natural light and flexible spaces and resulting in an instant hub of campus activity.

The task was to transform the outmoded, fortress-like Neuberger Hall (now named Fariborz Maseeh Hall) into a modern, interactive, light-filled academic hub. The five-story building was originally built in the Brutalist-style, a common campus aesthetic which reflected the pragmatic and inwardly focused buildings of that era. A half-century later, these buildings represent the antithesis of the open, flexible environments called for today. Evolving this building to meet the current needs focused on three key strategies: 1) re-centering the design to the user—the students, faculty, community members, and others who use the building; 2) prioritizing life-cycle and life safety upgrades to the building as a whole; and 3) engaging with owners, contractors, consultants and subcontractors in collaborative, fine-grained decision-making that preserved as many opportunities as possible to support all Portland State University students.

The design concept repositions the building—which functions as a central student hub with classrooms, lecture halls, student services, and faculty offices—through a series of interventions, renovations, and expansions. The result is an engaging, open, and humane experience. With an emphasis on access to daylight and connections between indoor and outdoor spaces, the 250,000-square-foot building now enhances campus function, while better connecting and responding to its urban setting.

The original building was completed in two phases, 1961 and 1969. The two elements are now joined by a common floor plan, while their distinct exterior appearances are preserved. Through a rigorous programming exercise, the removal of 20,000-square-feet of floor area for the light well reduced only 3,000-square-feet of assignable space, while improving program efficiency and flexibility with the additional floor area at the interior with access to daylight. Exterior facades were upgraded through new curtainwall systems. That increase visibility while enhancing energy performance.

A new central light well brings daylight into the heart of the building, and a more transparent facade provides visual connectivity to the outdoors. The new floor plan now provides students, faculty, and staff with enhanced opportunities for cross-pollination. Improved ground floor program distribution also now provides visual and physical connections between the plaza and park amenity spaces and expands opportunities for more student activity and interaction outside of the classroom. The physical connections are improved through a continuous accessible floor plan with full ADA access and enhanced way finding. Previously closed-in hallways and circulations now have unobstructed line of sight between the building’s eastern and western perimeter.

By renovating Fariborz Maseeh Hall rather than demolishing and rebuilding, the team was able to preserve the embodied carbon of the building and substantially reduce carbon emissions. Together, the combination of replacing all windows with high performing substitutes and the increased daylight into the building reduces the building’s energy demand by 25% from the CBEC baseline model of buildings of similar size and use.

Hacker Design Team

David Keltner – Design Principal
Jennie Fowler – Interior Design Principal
Nick Hodges – Project Manager
Rashmi Vasavada – Project Architect
Matt Leavitt – Project Architect
Sonia Norskog – Interior Design
Jake Freauff – Design Team
Shawn Glad – Design Team
Marissa Jordan – Design Team
Brendan Hart – Design Team
Alex Palmer – Design Team
Vijayeta Davda – Design Team
Brad Smith – Design Team

Consultant Team

Architecture and Interiors: Hacker
Contractor: Fortis
Landscape: Mayer / REED
Civil Engineer: KPFF
Structural Engineer: ABHT
Mechanical & Plumbing Engineer: PAE
Electrical Engineer: Reyes Engineering
Geotechnical Engineer: GRI
Lighting: Biella Lighting Design
Acoustical Engineer: Stantec
Façade Building Envelope: RDH Building Science
Historic/ SHPO: Architectural Resources Group
Sustainability: Lensa Consulting

The post Portland State University Revitalizes Historic Hall appeared first on School Construction News.

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) named the 861-bed Chestnut Square student housing community the 2015 Best Mixed-Use Community and the 2015 Best Student Housing Rental Apartment Community as part of its Pillars of the Industry Awards. The 1,315-bed Summit at University City project was also acknowledged with the Philadelphia Business Journal’s 2015 Heavy Hitters of Real Estate Award, while the University Crossings project was recognized with the 2015 Student Housing Business Innovator Award – Most Creative Public-Private Partnership, On-campus.

New York-based Robert A.M. Stern Architects designed the 361,200-square-foot, mixed-use Chestnut Square student housing and retail development. The $97.6 million project was completed in September 2013. “Chestnut Square helped transform our campus and our neighborhood, and it richly deserves these accolades,” said John A. Fry, Drexel’s president, in a statement. “American Campus Communities develops and runs great buildings, including three at Drexel, and our partnership with American Campus has allowed us to focus on academic priorities and leave infrastructure investments and challenges to the experts.”

The Summit development, which opened earlier this fall, is the latest of the ACC projects. The $170 million, 1,315-bed Summit marks a significant development in the school’s 2012 Campus Master Plan with the transformation of the Lancaster Avenue corridor. It helps bring positive development to its surrounding neighborhoods and West Philadelphia as a whole, and the community has been involved throughout the process. Philadelphia Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell’s office, the neighboring Community Education Center, the Lancaster Avenue Business Association and the Powelton Village Civic Association all provided input for the project, according to Drexel Now.

“Sometimes it is hard to accommodate big changes in the area, but the community has been candid and forward-thinking in our interactions,” Testa told Drexel Now. “It’s exciting to see just how good, collaborative planning results in vibrant, energetic, University City activity.”

While not a new-build project, University Crossings underwent a $13 million exterior renovation that was completed in late 2014. The student housing facility opened in 2002 in the Pennsylvania Railroad Office Building, an 87-year-old structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The project included exterior cleaning, repointing bricks and water infiltration repairs.

The Drexel University-American Campus partnership includes all three projects that expand the university housing capacity by approximately 3,200 beds. All projects were funded by American Campus Communities as a part of their American Campus Equity (ACE) program, which provides universities with the option to develop or sell student housing while preserving their debt capacity to fund core infrastructure.

“Our partnership with Drexel University has yielded three award-winning student housing communities,” said Bill Bayless, president and CEO of ACC, in a statement. “That success is a testament to President Fry’s unparalleled vision for student housing at the university and our shared, unrelenting commitment to student success.”

The post Drexel University Wins Awards for Student Housing appeared first on School Construction News.