Think you know what goes on here? Look again. Step inside Hackerman Hall, home to Johns Hopkins’ Computational Sciences program and a remarkable intellectual crossroads.

The Library and Science Center at the Ashley Hall School in Charleston has received a 2010 Merit Award for Excellence in School Building and Design from CEFPI’s South Carolina chapter.

The center was dedicated in 2009, the centennial year for this independent girls’ school. The school’s rich history informed the project design, which drew inspiration from the proportion and detail of nearby McBee House, the campus’ iconic structure. The Library occupies two floors of the new building, while the third floor and renovated space in adjoining Jenkins ...[more]

Xavier University’s Board of Trustees approved the construction of a new residence hall and dining facility at its quarterly meeting on December 11.

The residence hall will house 530 students in suite-style living. The 800-seat campus-wide dining facility replaces the Hoff Marketplace dining hall where students now take all their meals. The 240,000 s.f. complex is scheduled for completion by the fall of 2011. Providing housing for an additional 500 students has been a priority for Xavier as a response to increased enrollment.

Locating the complex near the Student Center and existing residence halls will bring renewed energy and vibrancy to the core of campus while unifying the rest of campus, including ...[more]

A prime concern in the renovation of Gallatin Hall was the preservation of existing exterior masonry while ensuring the building’s energy efficiency. The masonry had behaved consistently through the freeze/thaw cycles of the previous 80 years, and we were concerned that complying with modern energy codes and LEED standards could have an adverse effect by moving the location of the dew point. Using energy modeling programs, we were able to determine that with 1” thick spray foam insulation, we could achieve an exterior wall assembly with an R-Value of 6 that didn’t drastically move the dew point from ...[more]

CHARLESTON, SC – What’s more important than dedicating a new building? Putting it right to work.

On August 20, the Ashley Hall School did just that when it dedicated its new Library and Science Center in a ceremony that marked the beginning of the fall term. Shortly after the event, student began using the resources of the new library, which occupies the first two floors of the 24,500 square foot building, and classes convened in the third-floor science center.

The new center is linked to existing Jenkins Hall with a three-story glass box connector that houses faculty offices, a media lab, and a central stair.

Head of School Jill Muti ...[more]

The renovation of Gallatin Hall at Harvard Business School has received LEED-NC Gold certification from the US Green Building Council. It is the second residence hall and the fifth building at HBS to achieve LEED certification.

The renovation achieved a 98 percent recycling rate for construction waste management, diverting over 1,500 tons from entering landfills through salvage and recycling. As the project’s energy audit reveals, the renovation has reduced nearly 700 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to over 6 billion BTUs of energy or 1,000 barrels of oil. Low-flow plumbing fixtures will reduce domestic water use by nearly 30 percent compared to a standard building. Energy systems are tied ...[more]

BOSTON, MA – Harvard Business School celebrated the newly renovated Gallatin Hall the old-fashioned way – with an all-night party. As the HBS Bulletin notes, what better way to “road test” a dorm than to invite 73 friends over to sleep in its rooms and test its light switches, windows, and shower heads?

The gut renovation that stripped Gallatin down to its brick walls and concrete slabs transformed the McKim Mead and White building’s warren-like accommodations into the envy of the campus. Gallatin Hall is now ADA compliant, with universal access through a newly restored courtyard, teak rocking chairs and benches lining its elegant brick terrace. A glass-paneled second-floor footbridge ...[more]

CHARLESTON, SC – The Ashley Hall School celebrated the start of construction on its new Library/ Media and Science Center in a ceremony held today on the school’s historic Charleston campus.

When it is completed the 20,000 s.f. building will house a new library and media center for this independent girls’ school, quadrupling the size of the school’s existing library facilities. A science center will occupy the building’s top floor, as well as an additional 4,500 sf of renovated space on the top floor of adjacent Lane Hall.

A glass connector will link the new structure to Lane Hall. Trellises scaling the building’s entrance will cloak the walls with flowering vines specifically ...[more]