��Vlog��ý Little Rock Breaks Ground on Transformational Campus Improvement Projects

John Hill — Mon, 05 Dec 2022 14:49:04 +0000

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock broke ground on a series of campus improvement and renovation projects that will significantly transform the face of the university for years to come during a Dec. 2 groundbreaking ceremony outside Ottenheimer Library. The center points of the campus improvement projects include the construction of a new north to south promenade called Trojan Way and a new Library Plaza. A generous $5.5 million grant from the Donaghey Foundation will fund these projects. Trojan Way will run through campus from 28th Street to University Drive and will create enhanced walkways, seating areas, and gathering spaces. In addition, the space outside Ottenheimer Library will be reimagined as a new outdoor campus learning environment with expanded seating and places for groups to gather. It will include a seat wall, a stage to hold events, and beautiful canopy trees for shade. “The upcoming campus improvements will transform the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock campus for many years to come,” said Chancellor Christina Drale. “By providing shaded spaces, gathering areas, and additional seating, we are creating an atmosphere that will help foster connections and provide enhanced living-learning experiences for the campus community.” Those who participated in the groundbreaking included Chancellor Drale, Charles Nabholz, chairman emeritus of Nabholz, Dr. Dean Kumpuris, chair of the ��Vlog��ý Little Rock Board of Visitors; Shawn Luther, principal and landscape architect of DCI; Jerry Ganz, vice chancellor for finance and administration at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock; Leslie Hutchins, associate vice chancellor of facilities and management at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, David Sargent of WER Architects, and Thomas Forcum, president of the Student Government Association at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock. Construction began in October and will last from 12-18 months. The University of Arkansas System Board of Trustees previously approved the Library Plaza and Trojan Way projects in May. “I’m very excited about the Library Plaza and Trojan Way project beginning soon,” Ganz said. “Thanks to the generous support of the Donaghey Foundation, we were able to plan a project that will significantly enhance the beauty of our campus. I think the entire campus community will be very pleased with the end result and, especially, some of the key design elements that we have built into the project.” has been selected as the project architect, while has been selected as the contractor. “The Trojan Way is a landmark investment that will improve the campus’ connectivity and accessibility for ��Vlog��ý Little Rock students and community members for generations to come,” Nabholz said. “Nabholz is proud of our long relationship with ��Vlog��ý Little Rock, which dates back to construction projects our company built on campus over 50 years ago. As a former student myself who attended night classes on campus in 1967/68, I know how much students will enjoy the additional paths, landscaping, and lighting.”

Charles Nabholz, chairman emeritus of Nabholz, speaks during the groundbreaking ceremony for the Trojan Way project at ��Vlog��ý Little Rock on Dec. 2. Photo by Ben Krain.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock officials decided to complete additional planned improvement projects at the same time since all the projects are so interconnected to creating a learning-living community to enhance student success. The additional projects include a new West campus entrance that will connect directly to the Library Plaza, the demolition of the former education building, and an Alumni Patio that will connect with Trojan Way on the north side of campus. “I’m also looking forward to beginning work on the new entrance on the West side of campus along University Avenue, as well as, the Alumni Patio project, which is where we are moving the named bricks that are currently in the Library Plaza,” Ganz said. “The Alumni Patio project will connect three different patios with a winding brick walkway and will be a fantastic event space that will surely get lots of use by all kinds of groups around campus in the future.” The campus improvements will also include a new patio and outdoor area on the north side of the Fine Arts Building, which will complement the new disc golf course that has recently been built on the south side of the Fine Arts Building to provide more campus recreational opportunities. “We have a beautiful campus, and we have this unused space available,” said Provost Ann Bain. “This will be a real inviting space for our faculty, staff, and students to utilize. We want to bring a bit of vibrancy to this side of campus.”

Chancellor Christina Drale addresses the crowd during a Dec. 2 groundbreaking ceremony on how the Trojan Way projects will improve the living-learning environment on campus for generations to come. Photo by Ben Krain.

The total cost of the improvement projects is estimated at $9.7 million. The ��Vlog��ý System Board of Trustees approved these campus improvement projects during its September meeting. The remaining projects will be funded by a combination of university reserves and private funding. The additional campus improvement projects include:

Campus Grove – The university is upgrading the north side of the Fine Arts Building to install an outdoor area for students, faculty, and staff. This shaded area will have additional seating and offer students a place to enjoy campus with friends.
Alumni Patio Project -The university is installing a new gathering space outside of the Bailey Alumni & Friends Center featuring the bricks that are currently located outside of Ottenheimer Library. The gathering space will allow alumni and friends easy access to view their bricks and allow the university to utilize the space as another campus gathering location.
Demolition of Education Building – The university has demolished the existing education building that is located between Dickinson Hall and Ross Hall. This building has not been in use for some time and will allow for the creation of additional campus green spaces.
Campus West Entrance – With the removal of the old Earth Science Building earlier this year, the university is enhancing the West entrance to campus at the intersection of University Avenue and 32nd Street with better walkways and a green space for students and faculty to enjoy.

“We at DCI are delighted to be a part of the design team for such a transformational project,” Luther said. “Just over a year ago, we were invited by WER Architects to join in an effort to take a look at a few small areas of campus. Little did we know that exercise would become a project which will literally shape the campus for decades. It is our hope that this project will help energize the campus and open the doors to the local community.” These projects are a part of ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s Centennial Campaign, the university’s largest fundraising effort in university history to raise $250 million ahead of its 100-year anniversary in 2027. Learn more about ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s efforts to provide great learning environments that encourage student success at the Centennial Campaign website.

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Seniors Weigh Pros and Cons of Designing Medical Facilities in Guam, Puerto Rico

John Hill — Thu, 16 Jun 2022 14:19:02 +0000

Graduating seniors from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock learned the challenges of undertaking international construction projects as part of their year-long capstone project. During their senior design project, eight students from the Civil and Construction Engineering and Architectural and Construction Engineering programs were tasked with providing the structural design, construction cost estimate, and building schedule for hypothetical new medical facilities in the remote locations of Guam and Puerto Rico. Team Eiffel (Guam) consisted of Taylor Finley, Lizbeth Ortiz, Alexander Silva, and Benjamin Whiting. Meanwhile, Team Watt (Puerto Rico) included Parker Addison, Christopher Heredia, Mark St. Pierre, and Garrett Wallace. Industry sponsors from Cromwell Architects Engineers and CDI Contractors created the design challenge for the seniors. Participating Cromwell members included Mike Callahan, director of structures, and Paul Timko, structural engineer. Daniel Bowen, director of preconstruction, and David Cooan, senior project manager, joined the team from CDI Contractors. “The industry sponsors typically choose a building that one of them has designed or done the construction on in the past,” said Anne Turner, assistant professor and coordinator of the Civil and Construction Engineering Program. “Previously, we’ve varied by building use, such as a school in Memphis or a police station in Florida. This time, the students had the same building in different locations. It’s always interesting to see how the location affects the environment and building costs.” A senior design project is a requirement for accreditation by the ABET, a nonprofit, non-governmental agency that accredits programs in applied and natural science, computing, engineering, and engineering technology. ��Vlog��ý Little Rock’s senior design project is unique in that its industry partners from Cromwell Architects Engineers and CDI Contracting have been involved ever since the Department of Construction Management and Civil and Construction Engineering was created, showing just how dedicated industry partners are to making sure the students have a successful education. “It’s a unique partnership where the students meet with industry sponsors 16 times in their senior year,” Turner said. “It’s a great experience for our students to learn from experts who are in the industry themselves.” Team Eiffel (Guam) came in with a final bid of $20,321,057 for their hospital, while Team Watt (Puerto Rico) came in with a final bid of $20,996,354. The teams noted that one of the major differences in the final bid was the fact that Guam had a tax of 2 percent while Puerto Rico had a tax of more than 10 percent. “I enjoyed it because it was a real-world application rather than just sitting in a classroom,” said Taylor Finley, who works as a project engineer at Nabholz Construction. “It gave us a glimpse into our futures as engineers. I would say the hardest part was taking issues related to our locations, as far as Guam and Puerto Rico. We learned we needed to account for taxes, travel, seismic design, earthquakes, and hurricanes, which affected our construction schedule, estimate, and complete design.”

- University News Archive - ����Vlog��ý Little Rock

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Breaks Ground on Transformational Campus Improvement Projects

����Vlog��ý Little Rock Seniors Weigh Pros and Cons of Designing Medical Facilities in Guam, Puerto Rico

- University News Archive - ��Vlog��ý Little Rock

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Breaks Ground on Transformational Campus Improvement Projects

��Vlog��ý Little Rock Seniors Weigh Pros and Cons of Designing Medical Facilities in Guam, Puerto Rico