{"83161":{"#nid":"83161","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Georgia Tech Transforms Campus with State-of-the-Art Buildings","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EWhen Georgia Tech sophomores returned to school this fall, they came back to a campus drastically different from the one where they started college a year earlier. Over the past year, Georgia Tech had opened $500 million in completed construction projects, more than any other university in the United States. One-sixth of the space in use this fall is entirely new. \u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe burst in construction is part of the Institute\u0027s strategic plan for education, research and campus facilities that will lead Tech to define the technological university of the twenty-first century.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our building program speaks to our intent to take our place among the great educational institutions of the world,\u0022 explained President G. Wayne Clough. \u0022When you arrive on our campus, we want you to feel the value we place on institutional traditions when you see restored historical buildings.  At the same time, you should sense our commitment to innovation in the way our new buildings and laboratories look and the way we bring them together into academic neighborhoods.  You should see open spaces that appeal to our aesthetic side, and classrooms that enhance a dynamic learning environment.\u0022   \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAmong the more than 20 new or renovated buildings, the most visible is the $256 million Technology Square project that turned a once dilapidated part of the city into a mixed-use and transit-oriented neighborhood that combines street-level retail, academic, research and office space in the heart of Atlanta\u0027s Midtown business district. But, for all its innovative features, Technology Square is only half of the picture. Rounding out Georgia Tech\u0027s new facilities are projects that illustrate the school\u0027s rising prominence among the world\u0027s top-ranked universities.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInnovation through interdisciplinary research\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENew facilities dedicated to interdisciplinary research are realizing Clough\u0027s visions for the Georgia Tech campus. The evolving Life Sciences and Technology Complex added the $23 million U.A. Whitaker Building and the $58 million Ford Environmental Science and Technology Building. Whitaker is the new home of Georgia Tech and Emory University\u0027s joint program, the Coulter School of Biomedical Engineering, the only public-private joint academic department in the country. The Ford ES\u0026amp;T Building, now the largest academic building on campus, houses faculty and students from five different schools focusing on environmental issues. Tech expects to complete the complex with a building dedicated to molecular science and engineering.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022The most interesting questions in research are at the boundaries of disciplines,\u0022 said Narl Davidson, associate dean in the College of Engineering. The complex was designed to foster interaction among peers from various departments. Rather than the traditional design of devoting sections of a building to each discipline, researchers from chemical, electrical, mechanical and biomedical engineers share office and lab space with their colleagues from areas such as biology and chemistry. This arrangement is already leading to developments in fields like molecular imaging, which requires experts with knowledge of molecular biology, quantum mechanics and electrical and computer engineering, said Davidson. \u0022What\u0027s really powerful is having access to expertise in all those areas and being able to share it,\u0022 he said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech also added a new campus in Savannah to its portfolio, which already includes activities in France and Singapore. The three new buildings at Georgia Tech-Savannah house the Georgia Tech Regional Engineering Program, which expands the school\u0027s engineering program to the southern portion of the state. This fall the new campus hosts 440 students.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022A few years ago, it became clear more engineers would be needed to meet the needs of the industrial- and technology-based growth in southeast Georgia and Savannah,\u0022 said Jean-Lou Chameau, provost and vice president for academic affairs. \u0022Individuals in southeast Georgia who want a premier engineering education close to home were an untapped pool of talent. The increase in engineering talent made possible with Georgia Tech-Savannah is helping the state secure its standing as one of the nation\u0027s leaders in technology development.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ETo make an even bigger impact on the region, the Georgia Tech-Savannah campus includes satellite locations of two Atlanta-based economic development programs that help Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies: The Georgia Tech Economic Development Institute and the Advanced Technology Development Center.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EEnergizing campus life\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAlong with Clough\u0027s vision of supporting Tech\u0027s academic mission with new facilities, boosting the quality of campus life is at the top of the agenda. Technology Square\u0027s public spaces are already providing much-needed relief from the rigors of the school\u0027s academics. On the other side of campus, the first phase of reconstruction of the Olympic Aquatic Center--built for the 1996 games--is transforming the open-air natatorium into a full-fledged Campus Recreation Center (CRC). After enclosing the pool and diving well, Tech built a full-service gym over the pool, a modern engineering marvel of construction. Complete with six basketball courts, weight and aerobics rooms and an elevated jogging track that provides views of Midtown Atlanta, the new CRC gives students and faculty an athletic facility that surpasses the offerings of many privately owned workout chains. When the second phase of construction is completed next fall, the CRC will add a leisure pool, racquetball courts, squash courts, auxiliary gym, lounge and parking deck.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ENext to the CRC, the new Whitehead Building, which houses the Stamps Health Services Center, offers students medical and dental services. In the Home Park neighborhood adjacent to campus, the R. Kirk Landon Learning Center offers Tech and its neighbors first-rate child care. The reconstruction of Bobby Dodd Stadium and the addition of 9,000 seats restores the nation\u0027s oldest Division I-A on-campus stadium to first-class condition. \n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EGeorgia Tech\u0027s $500 million infusion into campus facilities over the past year represents a giant investment in the Institute\u0027s future. Investments such as the rebirth of the Library West Commons into a digital information hub are the model for future projects like the Innovative Learning Resource Center. The Klaus Advanced Computing Building, to be built next to the Life Sciences and Technology Complex, will complete a neighborhood devoted to information and biotechnology. Each future project will build on the innovations of the past year to fulfill Tech\u0027s goal of defining the technological university of the twenty-first century.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u0022Our building program of today attempts to not only serve near-term educational and research goals, but also to create a campus that, one hundred years from now, will demonstrate that our generation understood its obligation to the Georgia Tech of the next century,\u0022 said Clough. \u0022We are building a Georgia Tech that will stand among the world\u0027s best universities long into the future.\u0022\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ECampus Construction at a Glance\u003C\/strong\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOpened:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTechnology Square\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nManagement Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGlobal Learning Center\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Tech Hotel and Conference Center\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nEconomic Development Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBarnes \u0026amp; Noble @ Georgia Tech\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nParking Garage\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTechnology Square Research Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nATDC Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nRetail Outlets\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFord Environmental Science and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nTechnology Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nU. A. Whitaker Biomedical Engineering Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nJohn S. Coon Building (renovation)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWest Commons, Price Gilbert Library (renovation)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCampus Recreation Center (Phase I)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nWhitehead Building (Stamps Health Services)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBobby Dodd Stadium (expansion\/renovation)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nResearch Administration Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n(expansion\/renovation)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nR. Kirk Landon Learning Center (child care)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nBusiness Services Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nGeorgia Tech-Savannah campus (three buildings)\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EUnder way:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nKlaus Advanced Computing Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nStudent Center renovation\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nCampus Recreation Center (Phase II)\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFood Processing Technology Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nFamily apartments\n\u003C\/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOn the drawing board:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nInnovative Learning Resource Center\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nAdvanced Clean Room Building\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nMaterials and Molecular Science and\u003Cbr \/\u003E\nEngineering Building\n\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"Georgia Tech has opened $500 million in completed construction projects over the past year, more than any other university in the United States. One-sixth of the space in use this fall is entirely new.","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":"","uid":"27310","created_gmt":"2003-10-20 00:00:00","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:02:02","author":"David Terraso","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2003-10-20T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2003-10-20T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"83171":{"id":"83171","type":"image","title":"Georgia Tech\u0027s Life Sciences Complex","body":null,"created":"1449178095","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:15","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"},"83181":{"id":"83181","type":"image","title":"Jogging track at the new Campus Recreation Center","body":null,"created":"1449178095","gmt_created":"2015-12-03 21:28:15","changed":"1475894700","gmt_changed":"2016-10-08 02:45:00"}},"media_ids":["83171","83181"],"groups":[{"id":"1214","name":"News Room"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EGeorgia Tech Media Relations\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003ELaura Diamond\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:laura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u0022\u003Elaura.diamond@comm.gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-894-6016\u003Cbr \/\u003EJason Maderer\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:maderer@gatech.edu\u0022\u003Emaderer@gatech.edu\u003C\/a\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E404-660-2926\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["david.terraso@comm.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}