R.W. Kern Center at Hampshire College (Mass.)
When this two-story, 15,000-square-foot facility opens in 2016, it will become the main point of entry onto campus and the first stop for prospective students. Besides the admissions office, it will house classrooms, meeting spaces, a bookstore and a cafe.
Following rigorous sustainability standards set by The International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge, the center will create its own energy and treat its own waste. It is being built with locally sourced materials and will have rainwater collection systems.
Architects are Bruner/Cott & Associates (Boston), and the contractor is Wright Builders (Northampton).
Rawlins Hall at the University of North Texas
This residence hall for 487 honors students will feature study rooms, small meeting spaces, activity areas and lounges, plus a faculty-in-residence apartment.
Its interior neighborhood design, multipurpose rooms, shared community kitchen and open lobby will help foster a sense of community. The rear entry will feature a large porch that opens to a courtyard shared with Honors Hall.
An August 2015 completion is planned for the $37.1 million project, designed by Randall Scott Architects (Dallas) and managed by Vaughn Construction (Houston).
331 Innovation Boulevard at Penn State’s Innovation Park
GLP Development broke ground on a $17.8 million, four-story building that will offer 82,000 square feet of leasable office space to an in-demand office park with no vacancies.
An August 2015 opening is planned. In the past two years, 20 companies have launched out of Innovation Park’s Ben Franklin TechCelerator program and via connections made through Penn State’s research and technology infrastructure.
The new building, designed by Pfaffmann + Associates (Pittsburgh), is the first in the park to be built to LEED standards.
