Shop Talk: New Buildings at West Point and Elsewhere

West Point’s new library was designed to fit in with other buildings on the campus. (Holzman Moss Architecture image)

Library at West Point: If you were compiling a list of hard-to-match campus-architecture styles, you’d probably put that of the United States Military Academy near the top. It’s Collegiate Gothic as interpreted by the Army Corps of Engineers — on a monumental-looking scale and with a blocky aesthetic. Which is to say, it’s a challenge. But Malcolm Holzman, of Holzman Moss Architecture, collaborated with STV Group and the Corps of Engineers to produce a six-story, $65-million library that The New York Times says strikes a balance between accommodating the academy’s traditions and meeting the needs of cadets from “an incredibly social generation.” The 148,000-square-foot building has the campus’s first glass curtain wall, as well as an open, six-story staircase (because cadets are not permitted to use elevators). It also has a color palette designed to go with the cadets’ gray-and-black uniforms.

Science building in Bakersfield: The first new science building in 30 years has opened at California State University at Bakersfield. The 54,651-square-foot building, which cost $19.5-million, was designed by Studios Architecture.

Campus center in Milledgeville: A new, 30,000-square-foot West Campus Center has opened at Georgia College and State University. The facility has a restaurant, a market, a lounge area, and a classroom that can be divided in two.

The U. of Texas at Arlington’s new science and engineering building will have a number of sustainable features. (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects image)

Groundbreaking in Arlington: The University of Texas at Arlington breaks ground today on a 234,265-square-foot engineering- and science-research building that is due to open in 2011. The building, designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects and PageSoutherlandPage, will have a number of sustainable features, including green roofs and a rainwater-collection system. In addition, labs that need extra air-handling capacity for safety reasons will be separated from labs that do not, to reduce the load on mechanical systems.