BIM-Delivered Project Designed To Achieve Gold LEED Certification
ORLANDO, Fla. (December 23, 2009) – C.T. Hsu + Associates has completed the $23 million, 100,000 SF University Center, an archetype joint-use facility shared by Valencia Community College (VCC) and the University of Central Florida (UCF). The firm delivered the facility using Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, a powerful platform for managing a project’s design and construction phases using a digital, three-dimensional model linked to a master database of project information. It is designed to achieve Gold LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
About University Center
UCF and the region’s four community colleges recently embarked on an initiative to expand students’ access to higher education by giving community college students more choices of bachelor’s degree programs in their home counties. University Center, located on VCC’s west campus, allows students to enroll at VCC, attend classes on the West Campus, and then transfer to UCF to complete their degree program without having to relocate to UCF’s main campus. The three-story facility provides classroom space, offices and labs to serve an estimated 1,704 community college students pursuing bachelor and graduate degrees in nursing and engineering.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist attended the University Center’s grand opening ceremony. “Every day our students show us their commitment and determination to succeed. It is our responsibility to provide them with high-quality educational facilities such as this to support them as they strive to achieve their goals,” he remarked. “And, in times such as these, to deliver a facility like this on time and on budget is something that all of us in Tallahassee truly appreciate.”