Rising on the site of an existing parking lot, UMass Amherst’s new 87,000-sf Worcester Commons will provide the university and its students with a learning hub meant to enhance student life.
The $53 million project will highlight the university’s dining services and include a 1000-seat, all-you-can-eat dining space with 15 different global cuisines, a teaching kitchen, a ground-floor cafe, a commercial bakery, a grab-and-go market, and a new full-service restaurant concept on the top floor.
A “neighborhood center,” will comprise lounges, meeting and club rooms, collaboration spaces, music practice studios, and a fitness center. The site around the new complex will include the replacement of parking and loading spaces, outdoor gathering areas, and community spaces.
See Also: A fresh start: upgrades and expansions mark new school year
Worcester Commons is located at the intersection of two main corridors of the campus and is targeting LEED Gold certification. Shawmut Design and Construction, in partnership with Perry Dean Rogers and Connor Architecture, will design and build the project.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Burt Hill, HOK top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest university design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 University Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
PCL Construction, HITT Contracting among nation's largest commercial building contractors, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 50 Commercial Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Webcor, Hunt Construction lead the way in mixed-use construction, according to BD+C's Giants 300 report
A ranking of the Top 30 Mixed-Use Contractors based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Jacobs, HDR top BD+C's ranking of the nation's 100 largest institutional building design firms
A ranking of the Top 100 Institutional Design Firms based on Building Design+Construction's 2009 Giants 300 survey. For more Giants 300 rankings, visit http://www.BDCnetwork.com/Giants
| Aug 11, 2010
Polshek Partnership unveils design for University of North Texas business building
New York-based architect Polshek Partnership today unveiled its design scheme for the $70 million Business Leadership Building at the University of North Texas in Denton. Designed to provide UNT’s 5,400-plus business majors the highest level of academic instruction and professional training, the 180,000-sf facility will include an open atrium, an internet café, and numerous study and tutoring rooms—all designed to help develop a spirit of collaboration and team-oriented focus.
| Aug 11, 2010
UCLA to get more graduate housing
The University of California, Los Angeles, has begun a new graduate housing project that will occupy 275,000 sf of the campus. The Wayburn Terrace Graduate Housing Project, led by California-based construction management and consulting firm Gafcon, includes a residential building comprising 500 studio apartments, a commons building, and administrative offices.
| Aug 11, 2010
Fashion school gives old building a make over
A new art facility for LIM, the College for the Business of Fashion, in midtown Manhattan is the result of a gut renovation of a six-story townhouse-school built in 1880. The new facility will continue LIM's mission of educating undergraduates on the business side of fashion. Architecture firm Butler Rogers Baskett transformed the old building's claustrophobic layout into a modern, multifunctio...
| Aug 11, 2010
Biomedical center to join London's research scene
The UK Centre for Medical Research and Innovation, a partnership of scientific organizations researching new treatments for illnesses such as cancer and heart disease, hopes to attract leading medical scientists to its planned research center. Designed by HOK London, the building will be located on 3.
| Aug 11, 2010
San Diego Mesa College enhances math and science facilities
A $92 million, 180,000-sf instructional center soon will rise at the heart of San Diego Mesa College in California. Slated to open in November 2012, the Math and Science Building will be funded by Propositions S and N construction bond program. The blueprint calls for four floors of classrooms, laboratory space, and offices for several science departments.
| Aug 11, 2010
Tufts University puts bite into new dental school addition
The recently dedicated Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, in Boston, represents the culmination of a 22-month vertical expansion of the school's original 1972 building. The $68 million project involved constructing five new stories totaling 95,000 sf atop the building's existing 10 stories, which were also remodeled.
