USG's Kendall Center Earns AIA "Public Building of the Year" Award
USG's Camille Kendall Academic Center
ROCKVILLE, Md. (October 24, 2007) – The new 192,000-square-foot
academic building at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) in Rockville, Maryland, was recently awarded
“Public Building of the Year” by
the American Institute of Architects (AIA) of Maryland. The Baltimore Office of Cannon Design earned
the award, which recognizes excellence in design by architectural firms located
within the state. Cannon is a nationally
ranked architecture and engineering firm specializing in higher education,
healthcare, and life sciences facilities.
The new Camille Kendall Academic Center is the largest
“green” higher education building in the state of Maryland and one of the
first Â鶹´«Ã½ (USM) buildings to achieve a LEED®-Gold
certification. The certification, which
is awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council, reflects adherence to stringent
sustainable design and construction measures that protect and preserve natural
resources. The building’s “green” features include roof gardens, an
energy-conserving HVAC and water system, recycled building materials, and the
use of sustainable materials such as wheat board, bamboo flooring, and banana
fiber tables.
“The Camille Kendall
Academic Center
truly represents the future of higher education facilities and the direction of
our university system,” said USM Chancellor William E. Kirwan. “Sustainability
is the paradigm that will shape our policies and practices as we work to
confront the challenges of climate change. This new center demonstrates that
‘good’ design and ‘green’ design can go hand-in-hand.”
The jury for the Maryland AIA awards program noted that the
building is composed of a “learning village that combines classrooms,
multimedia, and office space organized along a sizable front corridor that
results in a highly interactive space.
We were taken by the amount of daylight that enters into all of the
spaces by way of public areas. There are
ample opportunities for chance meetings of students to students, student to
teacher, and teacher to teacher as they move through the handsome variety of
interior spaces that act like urban pathways…This project captures the spirit
of the category of Public Building
of the Year.”
The Camille Kendall
Academic Center
allows the campus to more than triple the student enrollment capacity to 6,000
students. It is the centerpiece of the
50-acre campus with its state-of-the-art features including 45 “smart”
classrooms, 10 computer classrooms, 2 open computer laboratories, as well as
distance-learning classrooms, administrative and faculty offices, and a 20,000
square-foot library. It offers expansive
student services, student lounges, study areas, a 200-seat dining hall, a
bookstore operated by Barnes & Noble, and fitness center.
The center is named for Camille Kendall, a leading Montgomery
County philanthropist with a long
record of supporting higher education in the area. Camille and her husband Cliff, a University
of Maryland alumni and chairman of
the USM Board of Regents, have donated more than $3 million for endowed
scholarships at USG to aid transfer students and students who demonstrate
financial need, great potential for success, and a spirit of community service.
The USG project has been the subject of several
presentations by Cannon Design and the university for the Society of College
and University Planning. In addition to
Cannon Design, design/construction team members include FON Architects as the
associate architect and Skanska as the construction manager.
The Universities at Shady Grove is an
innovative model for delivering top-quality higher education programs. USG is not one university; instead it is a
collaboration of eight leading public universities in Maryland offering more
than 50 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in Montgomery County. Established in 2000, the USG campus currently
serves 2,600 full- and part-time students who take classes days, evenings, and
weekends. Participating USM institutions include Bowie State University; Towson University; University of Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore; University of Maryland, Baltimore County; University of Maryland, College Park; University of Maryland Eastern
Shore; and University of Maryland University College.
Cannon Design is ranked among the leading North American
firms in planning and design for healthcare, science & technology,
education, government, sports & recreation and civic/justice projects. At present, the firm employs a staff of over
750, delivering services in 14 offices throughout North America,
as well as abroad in Shanghai, China.
Contact: John Buettner
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: jbuettner@usmd.edu
