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Academic Centers for Athletes Draw Donors
More than a dozen university athletics programs have added lavish new facilities in recent years, and academic-services budgets are soaring, a Chronicle survey finds. (Photograph courtesy of Texas A&M U.)
College Employees Value Campus Environment, Survey Finds
When a Chronicle survey asked college employees what they value about their jobs, they put the physical environment in which they work at the top of the list.
Rise in Tornadoes, Floods Poses Risk to Colleges
What if the sort of extreme weather that has left the University of Iowa inundated in floodwaters is not a freak event? What if it is a sign of things to come? (Photograph by AP Images)
Other News
After Hurricane Gustav, Campuses Clean Up
Cleanup crews scoured Gulf Coast campuses, removing downed limbs and repairing broken windows, while students and staff members forced out by Hurricane Gustav waited for word that they could return.
Lessons From Katrina Improve Colleges' Evacuations for Hurricane Gustav
College officials across the Gulf Coast were cautiously relieved when initial reports suggested the damage wasn't severe.
College of Southern Idaho Cafeteria Goes 'Tray-Less'
Students are also wasting less food because they no longer have the option of overloading their cafeteria trays, says the college's food-services director.
New campus buildings
Multimedia
A Green Building as a Billboard for Science
(A 2006 Chronicle video)
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About Buildings & Grounds
Buildings & Grounds is written by Scott Carlson (left) and Lawrence Biemiller (right). Scott Carlson writes about architecture, facilties, energy, and sustainability, among other topics. Lawrence Biemiller writes about architecture and facilities and contributes to Notes from Academe. What's happening on your campus? Let us know.
This Traffic Jam Is in Your Ceiling
Pipes and cables weave around ductwork in the ceiling of a new Arizona State University academic building.
Mesa, Ariz. —Ever wonder what’s behind those innocuous white tiles in your building’s ceiling? It may be a traffic jam. During a tour Wednesday of a new academic complex under construction at Arizona State University’s Polytechnic Campus here, fifth-year ASU architecture students got a look into the ceiling of a laboratory-support room. Beau Dromiack, senior associate at RSP Architects, explained that with so many utility and data lines competing for limited space, designers faced serious routing challenges. Among other competitors: Hot and cold water lines, chilled-water lines for air-conditioning, sprinkler-system lines, sewage lines, hazardous-waste lines, supply and return ventilation ducts, electric lines, and data cables—along with the supports that suspend everything from the concrete of the floor above. The result? An intricate weave of modern necessities, all hidden a few feet above users’ heads.
The new complex, designed by Lake|Flato and RSP, will have 240,000 square feet of space for labs, classrooms, faculty offices, drawing studios, and a black-box theater. An existing auditorium and two existing office buildings are being incorporated, and elements of the complex are arranged around a serious of appealing courtyards and atriums. The $103-million project is due to open this summer.
The Polytechnic campus, located on a former Air Force base, currently serves about 9,000 students and is slated to grow by another 6,000.—Lawrence Biemiller
Students photographing the south facade of one of the new buildings.
Students also visited a 2004 student-union building by Gould Evans. Perforated-metal screens shade the building against the summer sun.
A water tower is one of many structures remaining from the Air Force era. (Chronicle photographs by Lawrence Biemiller)
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