August 2012: On the Drawing Board

New tudor gothic residence hall gives students modern living quarters

Work recently commenced on a new residence and event hall on the campus of the University of Puget Sound. The new hall will allow more upper-level students to live on campus in Tacoma, Wash., and provide space for four residential academic communities, including humanities and environmental policy. The 55,000-sf building, designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson of Seattle, will have 11 student “houses.”  Each house will contain nine to 14 individual bedrooms surrounding a great room kitchen and living area, as well as study and gathering areas, bathrooms, and laundry facilities. The Building Team also includes: Skanska, general contractor; AHBL, civil and structural engineer; WSP Flack & Kurtz, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection; Berger Partnership, landscape architect; and Candela, llighting design.

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$160-Million replacement Army Hospital in California to provide much-needed upgrade

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles District, selected Turner Construction Co. to build the Fort Irwin Replacement Hospital in San Bernardino, Calif. The new $160 million hospital, designed by Ellerbe Becket and RLF, will replace the Weed Army Community Hospital. A 216,000-sf facility, which will provide tertiary care, emergency medicine, and clinical support, will be built and the Mary Walker clinic will receive a 9,000-sf renovation. A helipad, ambulance shelter, central utilities plant, and photovoltaic farm, which will provide sustainable energy to the hospital and ancillary buildings, will also be added.

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Residential building will offer luxury in newly enlivened Boston neighborhood

Blake Middleton, FAIA, and Deborah Moelis of Handel Architects designed Millennium Place, a 15-story residential building in Boston, located on the corner of Avery and Washington Streets. Developed by Millennium Partners, the building will serve as the keystone of the Avery Street Corridor, part of a new neighborhood recently brought to life. The 155-foot building consists of 256 residences, with one, two, and three bedrooms, ranging in size from 750 sf to 2,400 sf. Residences are expected to range in price from $550,000 to $2.8 million. Millennium Place is slated for initial occupancy in fall 2013. Suffolk Construction is the builder.

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Mixed-use towers in Seoul awake the dancing dragons

Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture designed Dancing Dragons, a pair of landmark mixed-use towers, for the new Yongsan International Business District in Seoul, South Korea. Slender mini-towers cantilevered around a central core make up the buildings, which include residential, “officetel,” and retail elements. The design aesthetic, including the building skin, includes aspects of traditional Korean culture. In both buildings the mini-tower cuts are clad in glass at the top and bottom, making for dramatic skylights above the units at the highest levels and a transparent floor beneath the units at the lowest levels. The Building Team also includes PositivEnergy Practice and Werner Sobek.

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Deteriorating New York high school gets $16.5-million facelift, expansion

Stalco Construction will build the $16.5-million-dollar expansion and renovation at Long Beach High School in Lido Beach, N.Y. The school, which has 1,400 students, has experienced numerous problems caused by the outdated design and poor physical condition of the original building. The new Long Beach High School will have a three-story, 20,000-sf addition to the main building, renovated and reprogrammed existing three-story school structure, and new outdoor sports facilities, including tennis courts and a FieldTurf football field. The project will be completed in 10 phases. The Building Team includes: CSArch, Savin Engineers, Ryan-Biggs Associates, the Chazen Companies, and HMH Site and Sports Design.

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Manhattan office tower to provide tenants with sweeping views, flexibility, modern work environment

Construction will begin later this year on 7 Bryant Park, a new office tower that will overlook Bryant Park in Manhattan. Designed by Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, the 28-story, 470,000-rentable-sf tower has been designed for tenants in the technology, media, and financial sectors, with offices ranging from 100,000 to 250,000 sf. Features include: 10-foot finished ceilings and full-height clear vision glass throughout; column-free floor plans for full visual connectivity; and infrastructure flexibility with a raised floor for cable and power. Real estate firm Hines will develop the project with joint venture partner Pacolet Milliken Enterprises Inc. +