College campus life comes alive in September. Students are working hard to meet the challenges of a new academic year. Alumni and fans return in droves to revel in college football. And American Structurepoint has been busy tackling many projects on campuses, too.
Indiana University – Architectural Group
Our Architecture + Interiors Group is working to complete a predesign study for a new archival storage facility for objects at the Ruth Lilly Auxiliary Library Facility (ALF) at the Bloomington campus. The ALF complex has two archival storage facilities for books, but the university currently lacks such a facility for objects and collections. Our study is for ALF3, a 30,000-sft addition with interior modules that will store various collections. The modules and collections each require different temperature and humidity controls. The study will cover the project program, budget, scope, schematic design-level documents, and a LEED analysis and recommendations. The study should be completed by October 1.
Making the project even more challenging is that the type and quantity of objects to be stored in the new building is yet to be determined. Our team has to keep flexibility in mind to accommodate the widest range of items. These items include a lock of Edgar Allen Poe’s hair, a 30,000-piece mechanical puzzle collection, and a sizable collection of original Marvel comic books.
Indiana University – Investigative Group
Two years ago, the Investigative Group completed a façade investigation of the Harper Hall dormitory building on the IU Bloomington campus. We recommended that 75 percent of the limestone façade panels be removed and reset with a new anchorage system. Since our original assessment, we have investigated 11 total buildings on IU’s Bloomington campus with concerns regarding the structural attachment of the façade systems. We are currently involved with repairing 6 of those buildings, and expect to begin work on preparing plans for repairs of 4 more buildings later this year. The Investigative Group has averaged about $300,000 in fees for IU projects over the past five years for the Bloomington, Indianapolis, and New Albany, Indiana campuses.
Ball State
Ball State has hired our Architecture + Interiors Group, in conjunction with Treanor Architects and Ross & Baruzzini, to design a new sorority village envisioned as a 110,000-sft, multi-building complex that would become home for about 270 students who are members of the current 10 Ball State sororities. BSU officials realize that their lack of sorority housing puts them at a disadvantage to other large state universities and they want to address it. The project is currently moving slowly through the planning phases as Ball State negotiates with the individual sororities to determine an appropriate funding strategy. Most recently, American Structurepoint delivered promotional materials to the university to help with the planning and negotiation efforts.
The Ohio State University
We have been working on a number of OSU projects. Valerie Klingman and her team managed a road rehab project that repaired a section of Carmack Road that carries the bulk of commuter student traffic to large parking lots on the western edge of campus. Just off Carmack Road, Mike Raubenolt and his team executed projects to repair and maintain large commuter parking lots as part of the annual capital improvement program for CampusParc, the entity that operates OSU’s parking system.
In the center of campus, Derek Ehlers, Bob Darragh, and Tom Leahy completed a challenging rehab project for the Northwest Garage, which serves faculty and staff in the heart of campus. Northwest Garage opened just in time for move-in day and of course, football. On the medical campus, Jared Plank and his team are wrapping-up a due diligence study for two new parking structures that will be needed to serve patients and staff when Cannon Drive is relocated, beginning next year.