As part of its continuing growth as a four-year campus, WSU Vancouver will begin construction in late January on the new Undergraduate Classroom building. The project was awarded to Triplett Wellman of Woodburn, Ore., based on its bid of $16,234,328. Completion is planned for fall 2009.
The building was designed by Thomas Hacker Architects of Portland, Ore.
The building and its surroundings have been designed as WSU Vancouver’s first Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design certified project, earning the LEED silver level distinction under the green building rating system. In addition to using building materials common with other campus buildings, the interior will feature ceiling paneling harvested on-site from a large Douglas fir tree that needed to be removed.
“This building will finally give us a permanent home for our programs in education,” said WSU Vancouver Chancellor Hal Dengerink. “But most importantly, it provides some of the additional classrooms that we need to accommodate our four-year students.”
The project consists of approximately 55,500 square feet of space including 13 general classrooms of various sizes, two computer labs and faculty office and administrative support space for the College of Education.
All bids received were within the university’s budget.
For more information on LEED, the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction and operation of high-performance green buildings, see http://www.usgbc.or/LEED.
