Education

Dimeo Underway on Three Higher Ed Projects

Kingston, RI – The University of Rhode Island selected Dimeo Construction Company to serve as its construction manager on the new 186,258sf Engineering Teaching and Research Building. The architect for the project is Ballinger.

The new teaching facility will encompass over 186,000gsf in an H-shaped, six-story facility, which includes two teaching wings, a walk-out lower level, and mechanical penthouse. The first floor, located on the quad level, will have a large south-facing commons and a combination of instructional labs and interactive classrooms opening up to student interaction spaces. The upper floors will comprise flexible, modular labs in close proximity to the faculty offices, and graduate student workstations.

These adjacencies will help to create a research environment that encourages and supports collaboration and interaction. Each floor will also have shared administration suites, instructional labs, and seminar spaces. The new COE is seeking to obtain a LEED Silver rating.

The new College of Engineering replaces five separate buildings built in the 1950s and ’60s.

URI College of Engineering / rendering courtesy of Ballinger

The Ruane Friar Development Center marks the fourth major assignment for Dimeo on the Providence College Campus, including the college’s most recently completed Arthur & Patricia Ryan Center for Business Studies.

Providence College will begin construction of the new 55,000gsf Ruane Friar Development Center. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the new multipurpose facility will significantly enhance Friar athletics, student services, and community life at a national level. Phase 1 of the project will concentrate on the men’s and women’s basketball as well as volleyball facilities, athletic training center, offices, a new Friar Athletics Hall of Fame, and a dining room, in addition to an atrium spanning Alumni Hall and Slavin Center, along with facilities for career and professional development services and infrastructure improvements.

Providence College, Ruane Friar Development Center / rendering courtesy of Perkins Eastman

At University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Dimeo teams are continuing  previous assignments including Commonwealth Honors College and North Residential Apartments, and are underway with the new Isenberg School of Management. This project, designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG)/Goody Clancy, will add 70,000sf of classroom, labs, office and student-facing/commons spaces to the existing college. The flexible design lends for growth to accommodate executive and entrepreneur in residence programs and experiential learning.

UMASS-Amherst Isenberg School of Management / rendering by Bjarke Ingels Group

The new addition will wrap around the north and northeast ends of the ISOM and be organized on either side of a multi-story atrium to be used for large, all-University gatherings and special functions such as business symposia. The new “Business Innovation Hub” will accommodate faculty growth, career center recruiting, team-based learning and advising.  The project will also expand the existing facility to include colloquium space, a simulated trading floor, and limited renovation of existing spaces.