Rising on the site of an existing parking lot, UMass Amherst’s new 87,000-sf Worcester Commons will provide the university and its students with a learning hub meant to enhance student life.
The $53 million project will highlight the university’s dining services and include a 1000-seat, all-you-can-eat dining space with 15 different global cuisines, a teaching kitchen, a ground-floor cafe, a commercial bakery, a grab-and-go market, and a new full-service restaurant concept on the top floor.
A “neighborhood center,” will comprise lounges, meeting and club rooms, collaboration spaces, music practice studios, and a fitness center. The site around the new complex will include the replacement of parking and loading spaces, outdoor gathering areas, and community spaces.
See Also: A fresh start: upgrades and expansions mark new school year
Worcester Commons is located at the intersection of two main corridors of the campus and is targeting LEED Gold certification. Shawmut Design and Construction, in partnership with Perry Dean Rogers and Connor Architecture, will design and build the project.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 45 Engineering Architecture Firms for 2022
Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and Burns & McDonnell top the rankings of the nation's largest engineering architecture (EA) firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 80 Engineering Firms for 2022
Kimley-Horn, Tetra Tech, Langan, and NV5 head the rankings of the nation's largest engineering firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 21, 2022
Top 110 Architecture/Engineering Firms for 2022
Stantec, HDR, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 20, 2022
Top 180 Architecture Firms for 2022
Gensler, Perkins and Will, HKS, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 19, 2022
2022 Giants 400 Report: Tracking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now 46 years running, Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report rankings the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. This year a record 519 AEC firms participated in BD+C's Giants 400 report. The final report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Daylighting | Aug 18, 2022
Lisa Heschong on 'Thermal and Visual Delight in Architecture'
Lisa Heschong, FIES, discusses her books, "Thermal Delight in Architecture" and "Visual Delight in Architecture," with BD+C's Rob Cassidy.
AEC Tech | Aug 8, 2022
The technology balancing act
As our world reopens from COVID isolation, we are entering back into undefined territory – a form of hybrid existence.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 4, 2022
Faculty housing: A powerful recruitment tool for universities
Recruitment is a growing issue for employers located in areas with a diminishing inventory of affordable housing.
University Buildings | Jul 11, 2022
Student life design impacts campus wellness
As interior designers, we have the opportunity and responsibility to help students achieve deeper levels of engagement in their learning, social involvement, and personal growth on college campuses.
University Buildings | Jul 6, 2022
Wenzhou-Kean University opens a campus building that bridges China’s past and future
After pandemic-related stops and starts, Wenzhou-Kean University’s Ge Hekai Hall has finally begun to see full occupancy.
