Story Excerpt:
To compete for the best and brightest students, faculty, researchers, and budding entrepreneurs, two- and four-year colleges and universities are investing in buildings to emphasize the quality of their academic programs, especially those in STEM-related fields. “The main difference in designing and building research facilities these days is the focus on keeping up with the rapid changes in science and research,” says Nathan Lingard, Director of Design Phase with Mortenson Construction’s Chicago division.
Mortenson is working on projects for three colleges that include tearing out lecture halls and converting them to large collaborative spaces. On one of these, the College of Lake County in Grayslake, Ill., Mortenson first built four classroom mockups, decked out with the latest technology, and conducted student focus groups from those classes to guide its renovation. “The students liked the collaboration and interaction, but missed the textbooks,” which are now cloud accessible, says Sheryl Van Anne, Construction Executive with Mortenson…