WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) announced its third annual Best of Green Schools list in December. The 2013 list recognizes top educational institutions, individuals and initiatives that are working toward the common goal of creating healthy, high-performing learning facilities across the country.
URBANA, Ill. — The University of Illinois will soon add a $95 million, net-zero engineering facility to its Urbana campus. The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building, which will serve an estimated 2,500 students upon completion, has been under construction since January 2012 and aims to welcome students in August 2014.
NEW YORK — The Hudson Companies and The Related Companies (both based in New York) formed a joint venture to construct the first residential building on Cornell NYC Tech’s Roosevelt Island campus. Construction of the campus is slated to begin in early 2014, with construction of the residential building scheduled for 2015. The design of the residential building will implement sustainable building elements when creating the community campus — set to debut in 2017.
PITTSBURGH — Since November, Carnegie Mellon University has received two generous gifts for renovations and expansions totaling nearly $80 million. These financial investments will change the face of the Pittsburgh campus, and create expanded educational opportunities for Carnegie Mellon students.
PHOENIX — Grand Canyon University has announced plans to develop a new campus in Mesa, Ariz., advancing the private, for-profit Christian school’s goal of doubling enrollment by 2016.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County commissioners approved a lease agreement in December with the Tennessee Board of Regents on behalf of the new magnet school at Pellissippi State Community College’s Strawberry Plains Pike campus in Knoxville.
NEW YORK — After an eight-year struggle and millions in fundraising efforts, the students of the low-income Bronx neighborhood Highbridge now have its first middle school.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Princess Nora Bint Abdulrahman University (PNU) in Riyadh opened in 2011 and completed its final phase earlier this year. The global firm of Perkins+Will, in collaboration with Dar Al-Handasah (Shair and Partners), designed the campus.
PALO ALTO, Calif. — After already pumping millions into its burgeoning Arts District, Stanford University is planning to add another arts facility to its growing campus. Stanford students struggling to find performance and rehearsal space are applauding the school’s decision to construct a new “arts gym.” This drop-in studio and performance space will increase arts resources at the school where students have been forced to practice in parking lots and dorm lounges.
PHILADELPHIA — Results from a new independent nationwide survey, announced during a press conference at the Greenbuild Conference & Expo in Philadelphia, revealed three out of four Americans are supportive of green schools. The survey, sponsored by Hartford, Conn.-headquartered United Technologies Corp. (UTC) and the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Center for Green Schools, researched Americans’ attitudes toward the country’s public school buildings and investments to modernize school infrastructure.
