Planning Design and Construction Latest News

Stairway to nature

The campus community now has easier access to the UC Riverside Botanic Gardens on a stairway connected to a scenic path. The Office of Planning, Design and Construction recently completed construction of the stairway on a small hill on the east side of campus that provides a shortcut to the gardens. The stairway was built over a steep incline...

By Imran Ghori |

Student Success Center honored in Riverside city awards

UC Riverside has once again taken a top honor at the city of Riverside’s annual beautification awards in January. The Student Success Center won first place in the Maintenance of Existing Facility and Landscaping category in the Keep Riverside Clean and Beautiful Awards. The honorees were announced Jan. 27 at Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson’s State of...

By Imran Ghori |

Native American Garden project underway

UC Riverside has begun work on a Native American Garden in the center of campus that pays respect to the region’s original inhabitants. The garden is planned for a 20,000-square-foot area in the upper mall outside the Highland Union Building, or HUB, and next to the recently renovated Pierce Hall. Preliminary work on the project began over the...

By Imran Ghori |

Arts Building gets a facelift

In early December, construction crews began work on repairs to the Performance Lab, which houses a theater in the center of the building and is next to the stairs that face out to the Arts Walk area. Crews, who installed fencing and scaffolding around the building, have already completed the installation of a new roof, replacing one that had become...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR solar panel installation named project of the year

A project installing solar panels on two UC Riverside buildings has won a top prize from a solar energy industry publication. Solar Builder Magazine awarded the Rooftop Project of the Year to the campus for a project installing over 1,000 solar panels on the Student Recreation Center and Student Services Building roofs last year. The two...

By Imran Ghori |

Student Success Center wins national award

UC Riverside’s Student Success Center has won another top award for its design from a national industry group. The Design Build Institute of America recognized the new campus building with an award for excellence in its educational facilities category. The project had been previously honored in August from the Western regional division of the group...

By Imran Ghori |

SOM project marks major milestone

UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine building project recently passed a major milestone with construction more than halfway complete. Construction crews celebrated a topping-off of the new building last month, placing the top steel beam on the five-level structure. Many of the main elements of the concrete structure, including walls, columns, and...

By Imran Ghori |

Batchelor Hall renovation upgrades aging building

A renovation project at UC Riverside’s Batchelor Hall is expected to give the aging building a major upgrade. The project, which began in December, will replace old and outdated mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems at one of the oldest campus buildings. Fire sprinklers will be installed, and the building will get a new roof as part of the...

By Imran Ghori |

Construction progressing on new student health building

UC Riverside’s new Student Health and Counseling Center is beginning to take shape. The project celebrated a milestone with a topping off ceremony in early August as construction crews placed the top beam on the two-story structure. The new building will bring together medical, mental health, and wellbeing services in one convenient location and...

By Imran Ghori |

Student Success Center wins design award

UC Riverside’s Student Success Center has won an award for its design from a national industry group. The Design Build Institute of America recognized the new campus building as part of its annual National Project/Team awards announced this month. A panel of industry experts selected the top 30 projects in 10 categories that represent the best in...

By Imran Ghori |

Improved Eucalyptus Walk reopens

A UC Riverside walking path between the Barn and Rivera Library has reopened to the campus following a repair project. The 350-foot section of the Eucalyptus Walk that connects to Rivera, Watkins Hall, and Olmstead Theatre was closed in January for the construction project, which was completed in late May. The heavily used pathway, near a bus stop...

By Imran Ghori |

New School of Medicine building beginning to take shape

Construction work on a new School of Medicine building is continuing to make progress. A large tower crane has been stationed at the construction site on the east side of campus in the last couple months as crews put up walls, columns, and components of the building structure. “The construction team has been working very hard to get the building...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus projects win city beautification awards

Two UC Riverside projects were recognized in the city of Riverside’s annual beautification awards in February. The awards were announced Feb. 24 during the State of the City address by Riverside Mayor Patricia Lock Dawson. Plant Research 1, a high-tech plant research space that was completed last year, won first place for Sustainable Design and...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus breaks ground on new health and counseling center

UC Riverside marked the start of a new era in campus health and wellness Friday, Feb. 18, celebrating the groundbreaking for a new Student Health and Counseling Center. The 39,450-square-foot building will house Student Health Services, The Well, and Counseling and Psychological Services in one space, bringing together medical, mental health, and...

By Imran Ghori |

Campus power system gets a boost

UC Riverside’s electrical system is getting an upgrade. An electrical infrastructure project underway for over a year will provide the campus with more reliability, capacity, and safety, said Drew Hecht, director of project management for the Office of Planning, Development, and Construction. “This is a huge step forward for the campus – reducing...

By Imran Ghori |

Eucalyptus Walk temporarily closed for replacement project

A UC Riverside walking path between the Barn and Rivera Library will be closed for the early part of 2022 due to a walkway replacement and infrastructure tunnel repair project. Pedestrians who regularly use the 350-foot section of the Eucalyptus Walk to connect to Rivera, Watkins Hall, and Olmstead Theatre are advised to use an alternative route...

By Imran Ghori |

Teaching in the round

When Abhijit Ghosh teaches in the in-the-round lecture hall at UC Riverside’s Student Success Center, he doesn’t stand still. With a microphone on his lapel and an iPad in hand that he uses to control the audio-video system, Ghosh walks the aisles of the 404-seat hall during his “Earthquake Country” course, in which he teaches the fundamentals of...

By Imran Ghori |

UCR plan anticipates next phase of campus growth

UC Riverside has completed its 2021 Long Range Development Plan, or 2021 LRDP, a guiding document that will set the stage for the campus to grow student enrollment to 35,000 by 2035. The plan, which was approved by the UC Regents on Nov. 18, also anticipates adding 5.5 million gross square feet in instructional and residential space to support the...

By Imran Ghori |

New projects create a changed campus landscape

UC Riverside’s campus is a changed landscape for many students and employees who returned last month. Several major new buildings and projects have been completed over the last 18 months, including housing, instructional, parking, and research facilities. “Students and employees came back to a completely different campus,” said Drew Hecht, co...

By Imran Ghori |

New School of Medicine building begins construction

UC Riverside began construction Friday, Oct. 22 of a new School of Medicine building that will allow for growing class sizes and increasing the number of physicians trained in the underserved Inland Southern California. Campus and community leaders celebrated the start of the project at a groundbreaking ceremony at the project site south of the...

By University Communications |