Spring Break
North campus plans will reshape landscape
Chris Keegan
Issue date: 2/10/04 Section: News
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As part of Gov. Donald L. Carcieri's plan to transform the university into an economic engine, a number of changes through the College of the Environment and Life Sciences are in the works to turn the north end of campus into a bastion of technological innovation and sustainable design.
The plan, developed by Virginia-based community design firm William McDonough and Partners, will alter the area that stretches uphill from White Hall to the university's greenhouses on Upper College Road. It incorporates a number of resource efficient buildings, pedestrian walkways and green meeting spaces to replace the eclectic mix of buildings and parking lots that exist today.
"I'm excited the governor wants to invest in URI," said Jeffrey Seemann, dean of the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. "It's great for students."
In his second State of the State address last Wednesday, Carcieri announced his push for a $50 million bond referendum on the Nov. ballot for the creation of a biotechnology center in Kingston. The facility is currently in the conceptual design phase by architects Payette Associates of Boston, Mass.
Seeman said the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences will prepare students for work in Rhode Island's emerging biotechnology industry. The 150,000 sq. ft. facility will house a 400-seat auditorium, two 100-seat classrooms, a number of life science laboratories for undergraduates and state of the art research laboratories. The facility will be completed by 2009, he said.
The university is currently deciding the "utility" of the retro-futuristic Biological Sciences Building and has not decided whether the facility will be removed, said Paul DePace, director of capital projects for the university.
Carcieri also pledged $1.5 million in state funding for graduate research at public higher education institutions and Rhode Island, despite his promise to cut state spending by $180 million next year. Specific budget information, including possible cuts to URI, will be released later this month.
