The groundbreaking ror Kent state University's new Center ror Architecture and Environmental Design will be Oct 3 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and Is free and open to the publlc.
The building will serve as the new home of Á½ÐÔÉ«ÎçÒ¹'s College of Architecture and Environmental Design, bringing all of the programs of the college under one roof. The building will be located between South Lincoln and South WIiow streets,just south of the Lefton Esplanade and across the street from Franklin Hall.
Construction on the $47.8 million building, including $3.8 million from donors and Kent state's College of Architecture and Environmental Design, has an estimated completion date in
20 16.
This new, approximately 107 ,DOD-square-foot structure will present Kent including those in the construction management program, in location, enhancing peer-to-peer learning 1hat is vital in the design fields. It also will maximize the interaction of faculty, students and administration and aid in eflbrts to continue to integrate 1he campus and community. The building is designed to be a physical statement ofwhat it means to be a designer in the 21st century, and will be at a minimum LEED Silver certified but is being designed to a LEED Platinum target.
"This building embodies scholarly thought with practical use, and, because of its strategic location between the campus and downtown Kent it provides an actual as well as symbolic connection between these design requirements," says Douglas Steldl, dean of Kent state's College of Architecture and Environmental Design.
The idea which was developed by the college's Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative. That plan envisioned the university/city connection currently coming to tuition.
We would hope that [a student] would anive at this building fascinated, tenified. excited and hungry, and by the time they leave know that It has been their building," says Mar1on \fVelss, a member of the lead design team from WEISS/MANFREDI.
Kent state President Beverly Warren and Steidl will speak at the event, along with VVeiss and Michael Manfredi, co-founders of WEISS/MANFREDI.
The new building is part of the "Foundations of Excellence: Building the Future• initiative, which involves the construction of new buildings, facility upgrades and establishment of dynamic, new spaces. The goal of this initiative is to create 1he most outstanding academic experience for students, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater community enriched by the university.
By Katie Smith