Inviting and flexible—A story in the June issue of College Facilities Management & Planning magazine features design and construction projects for a revitalized SUNY Oswego School of Education, focusing on unique and collaborative spaces such as the atrium and walkways connecting Park (rear) and Wilber halls.
The SUNY Oswego School of Education’s renewal appears as a showcase for cutting-edge facility designs and equipment for teachers of the future as the cover story of the June issue of College Facilities Planning & Management.
The national magazine aimed at college and university decision makers published a cover photo showing the transportation laboratory in Park Hall, and featured several other “unique and highly specialized spaces” in a Facility Focus story with multiple photos.
The recognition is the latest for new and renovated SUNY Oswego facilities and their designers and contractors over the past several years, including LEED Gold certification awarded to three projects: Richard S. Shineman Center for Science, Engineering and Innovation; Rice Creek Field Station; and the Village student townhouse community.
The college’s effort to bring all six departments of the School of Education into a rejuvenated 21st century home continues through January 2018, with a full renovation under way for Wilber Hall’s three-story tower. All SUNY Oswego projects are built to meet the gold certification standards of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.
The School of Education’s first phases included a 13,700-square-foot addition for new state-of-the-art technology labs and a new Field Placement Office opened nearly four years ago on Wilber Hall’s ground level, and a renewed Park Hall and its new connector to Wilber, which debuted in January 2014. Partners for the projects included Stantec and Bergmann Associates.
Focused largely on the STEM-heavy curriculum of future technology teachers, the College Facilities Planning & Management article praises the project to date for incorporating “the specific technology and learning spaces needed to support the curriculum, maximize flexibility and adaptability, and create a sense of community for the School of Education.”
The cover story, in particular, calls attention to the school’s laboratories for transportation; energy and power; technical drawings and engineering graphics; materials processing for wood, polymers and metals; and electronics/mechatronics.
“Naturally, the STEM-heavy curriculum necessitates a variety of unique and highly specialized learning spaces, so many of the building’s spaces are a far cry from traditional,” the magazine noted. “The resulting facility is transformed into a space that is reflective of the school’s philosophy and supports the cutting-edge STEM program.”
The School of Education projects are part of an ongoing transformative $800 million campus capital construction and renewal plan led by college President Deborah F. Stanley.
The article is available online at https://webcpm.com/Articles/2016/06/01/SUNY-Oswego.aspx.