For decades, the Senator Theatre was the venue where the biggest films made their Baltimore premieres. John Waters, Barry Levinson, and other Charm City filmmakers revealed their works to the world first in this grand, old-style moviehouse.

So last year, when the Senator closed, people wondered what would be in store for the Art Deco structure, which opened in 1939. The Senator, in the Govans neighborhood just south of the Towson area, near both affluent and impoverished neighborhoods. Across the street is an old department store that has been renovated into high-end shops and restaurants.

Now Towson University has stepped forward with a plan to renovate and save the Senator. According to the Baltimore Sun, the plan would transform the theater into a multipurpose performing-arts center and the new home for WTMD, the college's public-radio station.

The main competitor for Towson's...

James Madison University, Harrisonburg, Va.

Building Type: Library

Construction Type: New

Cost: $31-million

Square Footage: 106,000

Architect: Design Collective Inc.

Contractor: Nielsen Builders Inc.

Opened: 2008

East Campus Library houses the science and technology collections. It contains about 1,000 study seats in addition to 45 group-study rooms, a 24-hour study space, and two classrooms, plus office and meeting space on the fifth floor for faculty-engagement programs.

(Photos: Michael Dersin)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make sure it gets included in our campus-architecture database and our forthcoming Architecture issue.

St. Olaf College, Northfield, Minn.

Building Type: Science

Construction Type: New

Cost: $63-million

Square Footage: 200,000

Architect: Holabird & Root; Weidt Group

Contractor: Oscar J. Boldt Construction

Opened: 2008

This building was designed to encourage interaction among the science disciplines by mixing formal and informal gathering spaces, study spaces, and offices. Classrooms, labs, and offices are arranged according to purpose instead of departmental affiliation, meaning that many of the teaching and research spaces can be shared among fields. The design incorporates specialized spaces for anatomy/neuro-anatomy and animal facilities, as well as laboratories for optics, computational physics, physiology, genetics, microbiology/immunology, synthetic and analytical chemistry, and biochemistry. The building also has an atrium with views out in three directions, a greenhouse,...

University of South Florida, Tampa, Fla.

Building Type: Campus Center

Construction Type: New

Cost: $50-million

Square Footage: 231,000

Architect: Gould Evans; Sasaki Associates Inc.

Contractor: Beck Group

Opened: 2008

The university replaced a 1960 student union with a new building that includes a four-story atrium, a tower housing student-life programs, a 400-seat multipurpose room, a 550-seat food court, a 700-seat auditorium, and a ballroom with a capacity of 1,200. The project also brought a formal restaurant, an art gallery, a variety of lounge and study spaces, and an outdoor plaza.

(Photos: U. of South Florida)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make sure it gets included in our campus-architecture database and our forthcoming Architecture issue.

Lasell College, Newton, Mass.

Building Type: Residential

Cost: $12.3-million

Square Footage: 29,890

Architect: Steffian Bradley Architects

Contractor: Metric Construction Corporation

Opened: 2009

Along with existing residence halls, the two new three-story buildings create a quad anchoring the northeast corner of the campus. The project created 65 double-occupancy dorm rooms, a suite for a residence director, and five single rooms for resident advisers. To maximize green space, an underground parking garage for 70 cars was constructed with a green roof to create the landscaped quad. The project was designed to meet LEED-silver guidelines. The project also involved opening a 1,350-square-foot boiler plant.

(Photo: Lasell College)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make sure it gets included in...

Campus architecture and facilities news from around the Web:

• Buildings at Ohio State U. and Rice U. Win Design Awards (left: Arthur E. Knowlton School of Architecture at Ohio State U.; Timothy Dursley photo)

• U. of California at Berkeley Considers Moving Museum to Old Printing Plant

• Western Wyoming Community College Seeks to Buy Hotel Building for Student Housing

• Glendale Community College Will Seek LEED Certification for New Campus

• New Building Will Double Size of Vail Valley Community College

Editorials in the student newspaper at Washington University in St. Louis dissect the recently released draft of the university's sustainability plan and raise an issue that activists on the campus have been making noise about lately: the university's ties to the coal industry through its Board of Trustees. Steven F. Leer, chief executive officer of Arch Coal Inc., and Gregory H. Boyce, chief executive officer of Peabody Energy, recently joined the board, which has ignited student activists who are opposed to coal energy. (Gary L. Rainwater, the executive chairman of the Ameren Corporation, an electric and gas utility that relies heavily on coal, is also on the board.)

Critics have argued that such ties to big coal run counter to the university's sustainability commitments -- particularly its commitment to cut its emissions. A conference on the future of energy held at the university...

Campus architecture and facilities news from around the Web:

• Yale U., Polshek Win AIA Honor Award for Renovation of Kahn Art Gallery (left; Lawrence Biemiller photograph)

• U. of Georgia Relocates 8 to 10 Classes Per Semester to Accommodate Disabled Students

• LEED-Gold Garage at U. of Florida Wins Award for Design

• U. of Oklahoma Dedicates $30-Million Engineering Building

Rice University, Houston, Tex.

Building Type: Residential

Construction Type: New

Cost: $132-million

Square Footage: 288,920

Architect: Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company; Hopkins Architects

Contractor: Linbeck

Opened: 2009

This project, which completes a residential area on the university's north campus, accommodates 648 students in two five-story residential colleges. The project combines the traditional features of residential colleges—each has a dedicated dining commons, a master's residence, and civic and green space—with new technologies such as prefabricated bathroom pods. Along with green roofs, the pods are among the buildings' many sustainable features. Rice expects Duncan to earn LEED gold certification, and McMurtry to earn at least LEED silver.

(Photos: Robert Benson)

Does your institution have a new building or a...

Wagner College, Staten Island, N.Y.

Building Type: Residential

Construction Type: New

Cost: $24-million

Square Footage: 72,000

Architect: H2L2 Architects/Planners

Contractor: Gilbane Building Company

Opened: 2010

Foundation Hall accommodates 192 students in suites—many with floor-to-ceiling windows—and is the first new residence hall constructed on Wagner’s 105-acre campus in more than 40 years. It was designed to house the college’s fourth-year students, those preparing for life after Wagner. It includes a conference center for the Senior-Year Residential Experience seminars and other meetings. The building also has common rooms, study rooms, laundry facilities, a cafe, and a patio.

(Photo: Lee Manchester)

Does your institution have a new building or a recently completed renovation? Make sure it gets included in our campus-architecture...