Goal

In 2018 we set out to learn what the campus wanted to know about capital projects being completed on campus, from new construction to major renovations, to transportation updates and more. Being a more transparent organization is one of UFIO’s goals, so one of the first steps to becoming more transparent is identifying what our campus residents (students, staff, faculty and visitors) want to learn about—and the best way to deliver that information.

Method

We distributed a five-question survey via OSU Today to campus the week of Feb 12, and sent it to a few closed groups of campus workers. Thirty-four people responded. We realize that surveys are very self-selecting, but this survey gave us a starting point to implement effective project communications across campus.

Insights

Ninety-seven percent of respondents wanted to learn more about projects on campus. The top three topics campus residents wanted to learn about:

• New construction
• Major renovations
• Projects to beautify the campus

Campus residents are looking to find out how their lives are affected by projects, with 34% indicating interest in closures, detours and ways in which campus operations would change. Features are important to residents; 31% wanted to learn the details of projects. Two respondents noted that project cost (and who was paying) was key.

OSU Today was the clear winner for communication method, with 44% of respondents choosing it. Email newsletters were also popular.

Recommendations

Project communication updates involving new construction, renovations, the effects of them, and projects to beautify campus can be the first focus of a project communication initiative.

Campus residents want to learn more about our projects, and another step in upping our transparency is sending the information directly to them, rather than having them search it out on a passive website. A once-a-month opt-in email newsletter which is also linked to in OSUToday for three days is a good start at providing the clarity wanted by our campus residents.

Full Survey Results

Project Communication Survey Results

 

Located between the two most prominent quads on the OSU campus, Strand Agriculture Hall has been at the center of the OSU experience for over a century.  In 2013, OSU began significant renovation of this historic building.   Renovation of this 116,000 square foot academic building improved safety, accessibility, materials, energy efficiency, and comfort, as well as redefined the building, both physically and programmatically, for its next 100 years of service.

Strand Agricultural Hall was built in three phases, beginning in 1909 and finishing in 1913. The structure was designed by architect John Bennes, who designed many of the campus’s most notable buildings. In 2013, OSU began a major $24.9 million renovation project. The renovation’s primary improvements were related to seismic resilience, accessibility, as well as energy upgrades. One of the most visually significant changes was the addition of the West Portico, which looks out over the Memorial Union Quad. This portico replaced a small wooden porch that was out of scale and did not provide the east-west orientation originally envisioned for the building. The design of the West Portico incorporates design elements that echo the building’s original porticos, but is appropriately distinguishable as an addition. It succeeds in finding a balance of meeting contemporary needs, including accessibility, while also being aesthetically sympathetic to the structure’s architectural character.

Strand Ag Hall Renovation Project receives Corvallis Historic Preservation Award by the City of Corvallis Historic Resources Commission, 2016.

In 2016, the City of Corvallis Historic Resources Commission awarded a Certificate of Merit to Oregon State University, Hennebery Eddy Architects, and Hoffman Construction for the care and investment placed in preserving the Strand Agricultural Hall building, an important Corvallis and OSU historic resource.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to attend the first open house for the Benton Slope Planning Study.

The study will review circulation in the area surrounding historic Benton Hall and provide recommendations for improved circulation, with focus on pedestrian accessibility, bicycle circulation, vehicle circulation, parking and lighting.

The planning team will be available to provide an overview of the project and obtain input ideas and issues from people who work and use this area of campus.

This will be a casual format.  Please feel free to drop in at any time during hours listed below.

• Date:                    January 14
• Time:                   11 AM to 4 PM
• Location:            Memorial Union, Room 206

If you have any questions, please contact: Ned Nabeta at 541-954-0294.

Capital Planning and Development Project Manager Lori Fulton was recently recognized in the Northwest Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council newsletter.

In partnership with Christine Atwood with Procurement, Contracts and Materials Management (PCMM) staff, Lori’s efforts are recognized for  commitment to making a positive impact in the diverse supplier community.  As Lori stated,  “Diversity is a huge piece of what we do, mandated by the President and the Board of Trustees.”

Click here to read the story

On October 23, 2015, an 18,000 lb. generator was installed at Milam Hall, which will provide 450KW of standby power to the building. To deliver the generator to its enclosure, the crane, truck and crew had to maneuver under trees and through a lawn, while maneuvering over steel plates and plywood to protect the sidewalk and lawn from the enormous weight.

 

Similar to the generator that was installed earlier this year at the Pharmacy Building, the work was a collaborative effort.  Capital Planning and Development project and construction managers managed the slab and enclosure construction, while Facilities Services Electrical Shop managed the building upgrades and electrical work to tie the generator to building systems.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education recognized OSU’s achievements in Campus Engagement and Grounds in their 2015 Sustainable Campus Index.

The 2015 Sustainable Campus Index highlights top-performing colleges and universities in 17 areas, as measured by the Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS). The Sustainability Tracking, Assessment & Rating System (STARS) is a transparent, self-reporting framework for colleges and universities to measure their sustainability performance. As of October 2015, there were 725 STARS participants in 24 countries, which included reports from 359 institutions in 9 countries.

OSU achieved 100% of points for Campus Engagement, which recognizes institutions that provide students with sustainability learning experiences outside the formal curriculum, and support employee engagement, training, and development in sustainability.

OSU achieved 98.3% of points in Grounds, which recognizes institutions that plan and maintain their grounds with sustainability in mind by minimizing the use of toxic chemicals, protecting wildlife habitat and conserving resources.

The League of American Bicyclists has recognized Oregon State University as a Gold-level Bicycle Friendly University, one of only 12 universities in the United States that has achieved this level.

Gold level indicates that the university has implemented bicycle projects, policies and programs to connect transportation and recreation throughout the community and that a strong commitment to cycling is demonstrated. Only Platinum level is higher; as of 2015 only five universities had achieved Platinum status.

This award grants OSU access to a variety of free tools and technical assistance from the organization to become even more bicycle-friendly. By investing in bicycling, universities can decrease their carbon footprint, see mental and physical health benefits for staff and students, reduce parking demands, create positive connections with the local community, and foster a healthy campus culture.”

 

See full story at OSU News and Research Communications

Have you seen the graphics at the LInC?

Not only are the graphics colored-coded to their respective classroom for way-finding, the graphics were thoughtfully chosen to be abstracted versions of representative ‘things’ familiar to students studying any and all disciplines at OSU and how those disciplines and the students themselves studying in those fields have a place at OSU, Oregon, and the World. Can you identify the school these images represent?

The LInC is a general classroom building that is not controlled by any one department or school. Any faculty in any school can teach in these spaces. Many of the larger classrooms will be used for the freshman/sophomore large lecture classes, and the committee wanted these undergrads to have a sense of ownership and pride in their respective choice of study and to understand their place at OSU, Oregon, and the World. The images will be a bit of a puzzle game for building goers to determine what the image is and what school/discipline it represents at OSU.

Capital Planning and Development and Transportation Services are pleased to announce that construction is underway for two new parking lots on campus.

The new “East LaSells Stewart Center Lot” along Western is being built in anticipation of the new Valley Football Center/North End Zone Expansion Project, as replacement parking for stalls displaced by the building project. This centrally located lot is scheduled to open later this fall, bringing 38 new parking spaces for those with A1, A2, A3, and B2 permits, as well as for event goers – adjacent to dorms, LaSells, Alumni Center, Softball and Soccer.

This lot was designed to use every inch of available space, while working up to existing property and utility easement boundaries.  Approximately 390 tons of asphalt will be used to create this lot.  Water quality and detention requirements were achieved with underground piping and mechanical filtering, in order to maximize parking spaces.  There will be roughly 175 feet of 3-foot diameter detention pipe buried below the lot to retain pre-development water runoff levels to minimize downstream flooding during heavy storm events.

The new “Energy Center South Lot” along 35th is being built to replace parking that was displaced by the Samaritan Sports Medicine Center that was recently completed along 30th in the Reser Stadium Lot . Scheduled to open later this fall, this lot brings 80 new parking spaces. This will be a CR zone lot and will be open to CR permit holders only.

Roughly 3500 cubic yards (96000 cubic feet!) of good topsoil was salvaged and stockpiled just east of the site in an enormous mound for future use at OSU projects.   OSU Landscaping has identified that on-site soil is often higher quality and less contaminated with noxious weeds than imported soil – not to mention the cost savings from harvesting the material from OSU property.  The Pocket Park Project site will make use of the soil to transform what is now a debris and rock ridden site into a landscaped green area.

Between October 5^th and 6^th, roughly 720 tons of asphalt were installed in the base and wearing course. Construction utilized an existing access aisle built with the Energy Center project. The center of the lot features a sand filtration swale to achieve storm water quality and detention requirements – this treats the polluted runoff water before it is piped to sensitive Oak Creek.

The Steam Renewal Project will replace over 500 linear feet of condensate line at four sites, and nearly 300 feet has has already been replaced with the project.

The four sites brought a substantial amount of lost water and energy that will be resolved with the project.  Recapturing and recycling heated steam condensate water cuts down on resource costs to reheat new steam to campus at the Energy Center.

Site 1 – Facilities Shops condensate return:  A mostly disintegrated underground condensate line between FS shops and McAlexander Fieldhouse was noticed by the city, when their nearby water meter vault and fire hydrant were registering over 100 degrees F, above ground!  The condensate line had to be replaced, so the FS shops heat could remain operational.  The project replaced and re-plumbed the line overhead into the old heat plant, where it ties into an existing mainline that heads back across campus through the tunnel system to the Energy Center.

Site 2 – Cauthorn Hall/West Dining condensate return in Sackett Place: Another condensate line was discovered to be damaged, when it was found that superheated water was making its way into a nearby storm drain, creating steam that came out of manholes and catch basins nearby.  Our project dug and repaired several leaks where we thought the issues were, but once uncovered, the problem ended up being much larger than anticipated (see photo of pipes with holes in them).  The project trenched in Sackett Place down to Intramural Lane to replace the entirety of the damaged pipes.  With the pipework complete, the project successfully mitigated substantial amounts of heated water entering the storm drain and eventual outfall to Oak Creek.

Site 3 – Benton Annex: Upcoming work will replace a failing condensate line through the lawn south of Benton Hall, which connects the Annex to the walking tunnel system.

Site 4 – Wiegand Hall: Upcoming work will address condensate leaks found just outside the mechanical room underground.

This project demonstrates how investment in our aging infrastructure is not only necessary to maintain reliable service to the campus community, but can also have a substantial positive impact on our environment by halting heat pollution into our streams and reducing natural gas and water consumption at our on-campus power and steam  plant.