Skanska provided construction management services for the Camille Kendall Academic Center located at the Universities at Shady Grove campus. The new 198,000-SF building houses enhanced classrooms, computer rooms, open class laboratories, and related support spaces for student services, administrative, faculty, storage functions. Other specialized areas include food service, bookstore, lounge, central computer control center, and the telecommunications center for the entire campus. To accommodate this rapidly changing industry the Camille Kendall Academic Center was designed as a “speculative university building”, a building flexible and generic enough to accommodate future changes in technology and curriculum.

The project received LEED® Gold Certification. A new parking lot constructed prior to beginning the project uses an aeration and filtration system that filters the runoff water before it reaches the underground water table. The topsoil and trees removed from the area for construction were stored and used for the grounds subsequent to the completion of the building.

The project incorporates far-ranging operational cost-saving initiatives, including reduced energy consumption, the use of high-efficiency equipment, HVAC systems with demand ventilation and the introduction of natural daylighting, as well as building envelope performance that exceeds ASHRAE requirements. The building’s southern exposure and an array of photovoltaic panels mounted on high rooftops capture solar energy, while a “green” roofing system reduces heating, and cooling costs and storm water runoff.