The New Hampshire

Issue date: 10/6/06 Section: News

Media Credit: Meredith Lee Construction on Kingsbury underway. Among Kingbury's added features are new classrooms and offices, and an additional 4,500 square feet of lab space.

As a part of the Knowledge Economy Education Plan for New Hampshire (KEEP-NH), Kingsbury Hall is undergoing major renovations in efforts to modernize the facilities of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences (CEPS).

Built in 1950, Kingsbury Hall was in desperate need of revamping before the $52.98 million project was started in 2004. The construction managing company Skanska USA is in charge of the renovations.

The project consists of two phases in which 50 percent of the original building was removed and rebuilt, while the other 50 percent of the building is being gutted and renovated. Phase I, which saw the completion of a new 45,000 square foot wing, was finished in January this year, while the university expects Phase II to be completed on March 1, 2007.

"The building has been brought up to modern day standards," said associate dean of CEPS Robert Henry. According to Henry, the building had no capacity for air conditioning or ventilation, which proved to be a major problem during the year's warmer months. "The old building didn't have enough power to run the computers," he continued.

Among Kingsbury's added features are new classrooms and offices, an additional 4,500 square feet of lab space, and a new lecture hall in the South Lobby, outfitted with high-tech presentation equipment.

"The labs have been brought up to date," said Henry. "They are designed not just for today, but for the future."

In addition, vast improvements will be made to the UNH Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science Library, located in Kingsbury. Upon completion, the library will grow from approximately 4,800 square feet to 11,000 square feet. It will include new conference rooms, which will give students added space to work on group projects, said Henry.

Through the University System of New Hampshire's KEEP-NH initiative, UNH received $44 million in state funding in 2001 to pay for Kingsbury's extensive renovations. According to the USNH website, the six-year, $186 million plan aims to "modernize, renovate and expand existing USNH academic facilities, particularly in the fields of science, technology and engineering."

Among other KEEP-NH projects were the $8.5 million renovation of Murkland Hall, completed in 2003, and the $19 million renovation of Keene State College's Science Center in 2005.

The positive effects of the Kingsbury project are being fully felt by CEPS. In fact, CEPS enrollment increased by 21 percent from last year, according to Associate Dean Henry.

"We've always had really good faculty, students and programs," said Henry. "Now the students can have state of the art labs to go along with their programs."

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