GAINESVILLE, Fla.—The University of Florida has announced that its long-in-planning addition to its construction and design school is now underway.

The university’s College of Design, Construction and Planning (DCP) has broken ground on the $32 million Bruno E. and Maritza F. Ramos Collaboratory, named after a prominent alumnus and his wife, who collectively donated funding for the project.

The new building will add 50,000 square feet to the DCP, encompassing lecture space, research hubs and various other educational areas devoted to 3D printing and virtual reality.

The Ramos facility has been envisioned by designer Brooks + Scarpa, based in Los Angeles but which has a Florida office in Fort Lauderdale. That firm is actually headed by DCP alums Angela Brooks, Larry Scarpa and Jeffrey Huber. The architects will be working in concert with construction manager Stellar, which is based out of Jacksonville.

When completed, the Ramos will feature two semi-circular wings that connect to the existing building, which first opened in 1979. Design elements will entail floor-to-ceiling windows and will also take into account weather-proofing in the hurricane-prone Sunshine State.

In a statement about the project, Bruno Ramos said that the University of Florida said he and his wife are excited to give back to their alma mater.

“Maritza and I are extremely excited to help bring the Collaboratory to fruition and are certain that this facility will help develop future DCP graduates throughout their education at UF,” he said. “This building will become the launching pad as they take off from Gainesville and make a meaningful impact in our world.”

The new building is due to open in 2025.

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ORLANDO—Architect SchenkelShultz has completed its design work for the University of Florida Public Safety Building, which is now under construction. The public safety building is meant to be a centralized location for the University of Florida Police Department (UFPD), such that they can respond to a wider variety of public safety concerns on campus in a more timely manner. The facility will also allow for the university’s police forces to be more visible and accessible to the surrounding campus community.

The new building brings under one room five separate business unit locations. Administrative offices and community meeting rooms will be complemented by meeting rooms, public records storage, interview spaces, locker rooms, a vehicle port and various other offices.

In a recent statement, Ekta Desai, a partner at SchenkelShultz, said that her firm is proud of the project, and that the building will offer a “gateway” to the campus.

“In working with UF and testing options within our studio, we were able to create a practical, inviting, high-performance space that will accommodate multiple Public Safety departments,” Desai said.

“With the firm’s growing Public Safety design talent and community-driven focus, we have been able to leverage our expertise to create a space that will increase efficiency and impact,” added Johnnie Lohrum Jr., who serves as both principal and public safety market leader at SchenkelShultz. “It is important for our firm to focus on projects that will impact our community in a positive way.”

SchenkelShultz has several dozen public safety projects to its portfolio, including renovations and expansions of facilities for first responders and public safety officials at airports, fire stations, medical campuses and other facilities. Ajax Building is the contractor on the project.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida (UF) will hold a groundbreaking ceremony at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 26 for the reconstruction of the Institute of Black Culture (IBC) and the Institute of Hispanic-Latino Cultures (La Casita).

The $9.9 million project includes a complete rebuild of the two adjacent buildings that have given away to decades of usage. According to UF, in the summer of 1954, the University of Florida purchased two white frame buildings at 1510 and 1504 West University Avenue and turned them over to the Dept. of Housing to manage.

“The years and usage have weighed heavily on these structures, and it is now time to recognize the immense need for functional and healthy space,” said David W. Parrott, vice president for UF Student Affairs in a letter. Through the Capital Improvement Trust Fund (CITF), we are investing in the future and fortifying houses to enhance students’ experiences.​”

According to UF, both of the existing facilities have major issues and problems that range from humidity and mold issues, to termites, wood rot and decay, structural issues, and air and water intrusion. Environmental Health and Safety documented that the IBC and La Casita could not continue using their facilities as they were due to fire and space code violations. With a growing student population with a growing demand for the use of both facilities, school officials sought out larger, functional spaces that would continue to provide adequate programming and services to students.

The $9.9 million project will help meet the needs of today’s students while continuing to preserve the cultural histories that each of the facilities represent. The new IBC and La Casita are being designed to meet U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, certification. Project completion is expected for fall 2019.

“DLR Group engaged students, staff, and alumni through visioning sessions, team meetings, and presentations to build consensus and ensure all stakeholders had a voice in the design. The result was the demolition of two previous structures and the reconstruction of institutions into welcoming facilities that represent the cultural fabric of today’s students, while celebrating their past, present, and future,” said Mike Lindsey, DLR Group designer and University of Florida alumnus. “The new Institute of Black Culture and the new Institute of Hispanic and Latino Cultures promote diversity and inclusivity for all students on the University of Florida campus and also provide homes for alumni to be active in the campus community.”

DLR Group led the design team for the IBC and La Casita projects in partnership with DRMP, JCR Consulting, BBM Structural Engineers, and TLC Engineering for Architecture. The construction team includes Foresight Construction Group, and the commissioning agent is H2 Engineering.

According to DRMP, who provided land development and stormwater management services for the project, the challenge was fitting sufficient infrastructure on a constrained one-acre urban site. DRMP reportedly designed and permitted a stormwater management system underneath the site’s parking lot by using innovative design solutions. By providing below-ground stormwater solutions, more space was available for student activities and functions in areas that would have otherwise been used for stormwater purposes.

The groundbreaking ceremony will take place on the adjacent IBC and La Casita sites, at 1510 and 1504 W. University Ave., across from the UF campus.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville is working to restore the historic Norman Hall on campus. A formal groundbreaking ceremony took place on March 23 to mark the start of the restoration.

Norman Hall — which now houses UF’s College of Education — was originally built in 1934 to house the P.K. Yonge Laboratory School. At the groundbreaking ceremony, this and more of the building’s history was shared. The event featured a traditional ceremonial dirt toss with golden shovels and a drumline from the UF marching band. In addition, UF and college officials unveiled plans for what the new academic hall will look like when complete.

Speakers at the ceremony included Ted Yogo, a Florida congressman as well as former Florida Congressman John Mica. In addition, the UF President and Dean of Education spoke, as well as Walker Architects amongst others.

The architect on the project is locally based Walker Architects, with the D.E. Scorpio Corporation (also based locally) serving as the general contractor on the project. The budget for the restoration of Norman Hall will be supported by $29 million from the Florida Legislature. It is projected that the project will be complete by September 2019, with hopes that the building can be fully occupied and ready for use by January 2020.

While the formal groundbreaking just took place on March 23, the first major phase of the restoration project is already underway, with interior work being the first step. This first phase has meant the clearing out of classrooms, labs and offices in the newer Norman Hall Annex (built in 1979) wing and moving everything to the original Norman building.

A similar plan will take place in late spring when everything from the original Norman building will be moved temporarily. In May, occupants in the original Norman building will make a similar move into another temporary location while it is under the restoration process for 18 months.

The renovations and repairs during this initial phase of the restoration on Norman Hall will include an overhaul of the building’s infrastructure. This will mean the installation of a new roof, new windows, all new plumbing, upgrades to electrical system, heating, ventilation and air-conditioning. In addition, the removal of asbestos and lead paint will be taking place. The restoration project is the first major restoration work on Norman Hall in the 84 years that it has existed, according to Glenn Good, dean of UF Education.

“The renovations will make Norman Hall more suitable for preparing the educators and educational leaders who will address the educational opportunities and challenges of the future,” Good said.

In addition to improving the building and maintaining the best of the historic features, the renovation project will also include a number of technology upgrades intended to better support student learning. These upgrades include configurable classrooms and meeting spaces, more space for research and electrical outlets to support student technology needs as well as other technology-related upgrades.

In addition, a spacious conference room for guest speakers will be added to the building. Even better, the conference center will be connected to a new café bakery where Norman Hall’s existing rear loading dock currently resides.

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The University of Florida (UF) in Gainesville earned LEED Gold certification on Aug. 21 for Newell Hall for its efforts in sustainability for the newly renovated facility. The remodeled building opened on April 20 after close to two years of renovations.

Schenkel Shultz in Orlando, Fla., was the architect on the project, with Robert A.M. Stern Architects out of New York as the associate architect. AJAX Building Corp. out of Tallahassee, Fla., was the construction manager on the project. Design on the building began in February of 2015, with construction starting nine months later in November. The project had a budget of $19 million for the 36,000-square-foot building.

The goals of the renovation and repurposing of Newell Hall — originally built in 1910 — were to create a unique and modern 24/7 “Learning Commons” to support student learning and collaboration outside the classroom. From an operational standpoint, the primary goal was to repair and restore the building’s structure and exterior envelope, while adding a modern and energy-efficient central HVAC system.

The greenest feature of all that enabled the building to achieve LEED Gold status for Newell Hall “might be the fact that an existing building was repurposed in a way that is both compliant with modern codes, and still respectful of the original [exterior] character,” according to Dustin Stephany, UF’s sustainable building coordinator. Other features include low-flow water fixtures, water-efficient landscaping strategies  — including wastewater going into a treatment facility and being reused for landscaping — low-emission paints and materials, and energy efficient equipment and lighting.

Over 20 percent of construction materials included recycled content and were sourced within the southeast region of U.S. The new HVAC system is predicted to be about 20 percent more efficient than in a traditional building as related to what codes and industry standards ordinarily require.

The four floors of the Learning Commons were designed with an intent of openness and flexibility to support individuals as well as groups of students. This was accomplished through the use of low-maintenance polished concrete floors, comfortable furnishings, and WiFi throughout the building. Additionally, the building has lots of natural lighting from the many windows installed, and user-controlled LED lighting allows for supplementary and energy-efficient lighting when necessary. A unique color scheme and graphics on the walls reinforce various Learning Commons ideas and tell the story of the building’s history, according to Stephany.

“The building feels closer to Google headquarters than a traditional higher-ed library,” said Howie Ferguson, assistant director and senior project manager for the UF Planning Design & Construction Division. “That’s relevant because it replicates the atmosphere and environment many students will encounter when they graduate and go to work.”

To maximize the amount of Learning Commons space within original Newell, a new appended annex was constructed to house building support spaces, such as an elevator, mechanical and electrical rooms, and stairs. The annex also includes a new food service space operated by Aramark as well as the Center for Undergraduate Research, which helps undergraduate students who are interested in research to find such opportunities.

“What makes this project special is the successful marriage of historic preservation, sustainability as well as user needs and desires,” said Stephany. “This is an unusual combination that is not so easily achieved, as these three goals are often in conflict with one another.”

Finally, a very unique part of this project’s story is the direct role UF students played in getting the project funded. Students went to the state legislator in 2012, when talk of renovating the building first began. The students created a letter-writing campaign and took buses to Tallahassee, Fla., to lobby for funding. As a result, state legislature supplied a direct appropriation of $10 million for the project. Bernie Machen, UF president was so impressed with student efforts and resulting success, that he donated another $5 million to the project, making renovation of the new energy-efficient Learning Commons possible.

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Now completed, the 14-story vertical campus, located on Tenth Avenue includes 620,000 square feet of new construction incorporating classrooms, faculty offices, administrative functions, dining facilities, a black box theater, outdoor common space, campus services and new cyber lounges. More than 300 computer stations have been added to make this a completely wireless environment. The space will also include emergency management and high rise simulator labs, a moot court, and conference and exhibit spaces.

“The building is a critical component of John Jay’s transformation into a senior college of the City University of New York (CUNY) system and the greatest expression to date of the college’s continued commitment to ‘educating for justice,’” says John Jay College of Criminal Justice President Jeremy Travis. “It also was built to accommodate our 15,000 students, including 2,000 graduate students. This demand has led to a re-imagining of our core curriculum, development of educational partnerships, targeted increases in faculty hiring, and an emphasis on faculty and student research.”

Architect Skidmore, Owings & Merrill began designing the $600 million project in 2003. Design partner Mustafa K. Abadan said the college wanted an expansion plan that would augment existing facilities and bring unity to the campus as well as opportunities for bridging a vertical campus through interaction and social space.

“The challenge was to stack the functions of an entire college campus — classrooms, laboratories, offices and student amenities — within a single block,” he says. “We worked with CUNY to eliminate traditional ‘department’ floors to maximize flexibility and promote collaboration across disciplines and create a new science quad to provide identity and interaction space.”

Construction manager Turner Construction Co. started site demolition in the summer of 2006 and excavation in February 2007. Work on erecting the tower started in fall 2008.

“The existing site conditions were challenging on this project,” says Turner Project Manager Clarence Crasto. “An active Amtrak railroad had the right of way and was located to the western edge of the existing midtown project site. The construction team had to consider complex foundation, noise and vibration issues as the project was planned and built.”

Due to Amtrak’s right of way, borings were limited once foundation excavation began. Adjustments were made to the foundation as bedrock was found to be deeper than expected.

“This required a redesign of the foundation and approval by Amtrak,” says Crasto. “The team worked closely with Amtrak to approve rigging. At first, we were approved only for weekend work, but through extensive communication and teamwork, we found alternative solutions that allowed for work to resume during the weekdays.”

The 14-floor tower also had its share of challenges. Situated on the western side of the site due to the Amtrak’s right of way presented difficulties in designing the perimeter structure. Turner and structural engineers Leslie Robertson Associates developed a truss system consisting of two vertical truss legs around the elevator/stair cores, which supported a rooftop truss. The perimeter columns from the sixth floor were designed to be hung from the roof truss.

“Erecting the truss system was challenging,” says Crasto. “Thus, the perimeter columns for floors five and down had a traditional W-section column, while floors six and up, which were hung from a rooftop truss, were plates temporarily reinforced by angles to simulate a W-section during erection.”

Melding Old With New

Designed as a modern counterpart to the existing Haaren Hall building — an early 20th-century building facing Tenth Avenue — the new building is clad in glass and aluminum panels, with vertical fins that project from all four sides of the building. The fins are finished with silver-speckled mica flake paint on one side and are silk-screened with a varying pattern of red dots on the other.

“These two treatments on the fins create a dynamic visual effect depending on the direction from which one approaches the building,” explains Abadan. “The spatial compression of the fins as people look and walk west on 59th Street makes the building appear to be reddish, creating a visual effect that ties the new building to the brick façade of Haaren Hall.”

Additionally, the massing of the new building attempts to create a strong urban form, providing the college an identity within the city, he says.

“The building grows from an existing datum established by the height of Haaren Hall’s limestone base and dramatically rises to the west, creating maximum visibility from both Tenth Avenue and the Westside Highway.”

Essentially two components comprise the new building: a low-rise podium with a rooftop outdoor common area and the 14-story tower. A social cascade, which originates on the fifth floor cafeteria in the tower and terminates at the at-grade mid-block student entrance, occupies most of the low-rise podium. Several breakthrough points at the base of the cascade and the rooftop common area provide access to Haaren Hall, allowing direct connection to the new building and creating a unified campus.

The 60,000-square-foot rooftop commons rises four stories above the sidewalk and is anchored by the new building and Haaren Hall. Robert Pignatello, John Jay College senior vice president and CEO, says, “This open air plaza will, for the first time, provide the college with an actual green space where students, faculty and staff can mingle, enjoy good conversation and build a better sense of community. With grass, trees and benches, this remarkable space will provide an inviting and truly unique outdoor experience.”

Unique Aspects

Probably the most unique aspect of this project is how the team has architecturally melded the new with century-old structures.

The addition is connected to Haaren Hall, creating a campus that occupies one full city block. This design also eventually allows for further growth on the site. The new building’s contemporary modern design — a marked contrast from the more classically designed Haaren Hall — is in keeping with the way the college has changed. The red aluminum fins on the new building help tie in the new with the old.

Another unusual aspect of the project is the large amount of space designed to encourage interaction and communication between the students and faculty. The social cascade, with its open-plan lounges and studying areas, acts as the central spine of the building and is anticipated to be the hub of social activity, while the rooftop commons provides students with an outdoor green space for congregating.

Looking to the future, John Jay’s Travis says that to achieve excellence in student success the college needs to create an environment in which students can be successful, not just academically, but in all aspects of their lives.

“To achieve excellence in strategic partnerships, we must continue to nurture our relationships with other entities in the pursuit of our shared goals. Our aspiration to excellence in institutional effectiveness reflects our understanding that continuous, systematic self-assessment and improvement must become part of our culture if we are to reach our full potential.”

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