American University Awards Skanska Building Contract

August 21, 2013 1725 Views athletic field construction, Austin Children’s Shelter, Eastern U.S., San Francisco; chilled water system; Arup; PG&E; Sukhjeet Sandhu, W.W. Hastings Hospital

WASHINGTON — New York-based Skanska USA Building was recently awarded a $78 million contract to construct American University’s (AU) new East Campus in Washington, D.C. The new space will encompass a large portion of AU’s campus plan and will aim for LEED Gold certification.

AU collaborated with the District of Columbia Zoning Commission to develop the Campus Plan. This plan, an extension of the university’s goals to continue strengthening its academic reputation, will also directly benefit the local economy. The new campus will provide approximately $400 million in new construction and renovation projects, which means new employment opportunities for the local community.

In addition to the new East Campus, the campus plan also includes plans to construct the new Tenley Campus as well, where the university’s Washington College of Law (WCL) is currently housed. AU also hopes to continue bolstering its education, cultural and aesthetic appeal to the rest of the community.

The project’s architect and designer will be Little Diversified, an architectural firm based in Charlotte, N.C. Skanska will convert the Nebraska Avenue parking lot into a mixed use space with eight acres for the East Campus’s new development. The project will encompass a total of 340,000 square feet over six new buildings.

Three of the buildings will be new residence halls housing 590 beds each. The other three buildings will be designated academic and administrative space. New underground and aboveground parking lots will hold 345 new parking spaces as well.

Skanska will use environmentally friendly building practices in compliance with the U.S. Green Building Council’s qualifications for LEED Gold certification. One major element of this process will involve prefabrication, during which Skanska will construct major components of the project off-site before assembling them on-site at the new campus. By doing so, Skanska will be able to minimize workspace crowding on the construction site and help keep the project on track.

The design and preconstruction phase has already begun. The new campus is estimated to be completed in the fall of 2016. Skanska is devoted to working with small businesses and businesses owned by minorities and women as outlined in Skanska’s global initiative.

“Skanska is proud to partner with American University in providing state-of-the-art learning and living space to meet the evolving needs of its students,” Bill Brennan, co-chief operating officer for Skanska USA Building’s Metro Washington, D.C. office, said in a recent statement. “We have extensive expertise in higher education construction, and are looking forward to collaborating with one of the top universities in the country to offer an environment that promotes a positive and well-balanced lifestyle for the faculty and student body.”