Webinar: Envisioning and delivering Duke Link

In a celebration today attended by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed and other dignitaries, the Atlanta University Center (AUC) rededicated the renovated Robert W. Woodruff Library, unveiling its interactive and technology-rich 21st century learning environment.

Shepley Bulfinch’s completion of the first phase of this major renovation included more than 130,000 square feet of the Woodruff Library’s 220,000 square foot facility. The renovation replaced many solid interior walls with glass panels, drawing natural light deep into the space.

The inviting and dynamic main floor, with its media creation and presentation space and ...[more]

Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital and Sherman Hospital are among five healthcare facilities recognized for their environmentally responsive design in “Code Green: Examining the Prognosis for Sustainability in Healthcare,” in the August issue of Eco-Structure magazine.

Sherman Hospital opened its new healthcare campus in Elgin, Illinois, in December. The hospital’s 15-acre geothermal lake, which is expected to save the hospital more than $1 million annually over conventional heating and cooling costs, was a creative response that began with the need to manage storm water runoff for the 15-acre site and ...[more]

The city of Show Low, Arizona, is buzzing about its new public library and council chambers, and is celebrating the opening with an open house, live radio broadcast, and ribbon cutting ceremony on August 17.

City manager Ed Muder said, “We’re happy to hear so many positive comments from our citizens and library patrons about this beautiful new facility. This is the first phase in our long-term plans for a civic center that will serve our citizens for many years to come.”

The library, which opened to the public earlier this ...[more]

The latest issue of Healthcare Building Ideas features an interview with healthcare architects Angela Watson and David Meek. In “Systems for Upgrading the Hospital Environment,” this issue’s Build It Right feature, Angela and David discuss recent developments in healthcare design, including strategies for waste management and changing perspectives on indoor air quality for hospitals.

Angela and David’s recent project at Concord Hospital in New Hampshire received LEED certification in 2009, the first hospital in northern New England to do so.

Healthcare Building Ideas article

In his article in the August issue of Health Facilities Management, Bill Mead discusses the financial, physical, and operational factors to be considered when making decisions regarding the renovation/expansion or replacement of a hospital facility.

By way of example Bill presents the cases of the replacement campus for Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois, and the bed tower expansion for Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin.

Health Facilities Management article

Four of Shepley Bulfinch’s academic library clients topped the rankings for “Best College Library” in the 2010 Princeton Review survey of students at 373 top US colleges and universities. The four current or recent clients are Harvard (#1); Duke (#2); Princeton (#3), and Colgate (#4). In addition, Furman University, where the firm completed the 2004 LEED Gold Duke Library addition and renovation, was ranked #12.

Rankings were determined by responses from over 122,000 students to the survey question “How do you rate your school’s library facilities?”.

Colgate also came in ...[more]

 Lawrence Biemiller recently opened a HUGE can of worms in the Chronicle of Higher Education when he asked whether all faculty members really need private offices (article). At 92 comments and counting, the overwhelming majority of faculty members responding are vehemently opposed. They cite need for confidential discussions with students, inability to work in a communal environment, and challenges to status (“when administrators do it, I will”) among other reasons.

Even though I am a campus planner who works in an open, collaborative environment, I think the faculty have a point. ...[more]