Bridgewater State opens New Wing

Bridgewater, MA – Opening Day 2011 at Bridgewater State University allowed thousands of students to finally get a glimpse inside the new wing of the $98.7 million science and mathematics center that’s been rising on the west side of campus.
The first phase of the project is complete and the 171,000sf five-story building has been filled with students and faculty holding classes, preparing to do research or just checking out the new space.
Students and faculty alike were amazed by the building’s new spaces, updated equipment, increased labs, auditoriums and observatory.
Bridgewater President Dana Mohler-Faria called the new facility “the crest of a wave” that includes nearly a third of a billion dollars in campus construction over the past decade.
He added that while rave reviews for the new building are nice, the real test goes beyond bricks, mortar and glass. “Unless it makes a difference in the lives and education of Bridgewater students,” he said, “It’s meaningless.”
Each floor features labs and classroom meant to provide students with collaborative learning experiences and faculty guided research. There are three GIS laboratories, biology labs outfitted with the tools and equipment necessary to grow tissue cultures for experiments and a $1 million microscope that can examine cells section by section.
Specialized physics classrooms include space for both lectures and lab work side by side. “We were busting out of the old building all over the place,” said Dr. Edward Deveney, professor of physics. “Now we have the room to do the work we need to do.”
Dr. Arthur Goldstein, dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said research and collaboration are the keys to a top-flight undergraduate education in the sciences today, and these were the priorities during the planning process for the new facility.
Construction of the first phase of the Science and Mathematics Center provided more than 500 full-time jobs. It will be another year before the entire project is complete as the old science building is gutted taken down by the end of October with construction of the remainder of the facility happening on the same footprint.
On Opening Day 2012, the result will be the fully realized new facility that will have 211,300sf of new and dynamic learning space.
A million-dollar greenhouse renovation is scheduled for completion in January.
Construction started in June 2009 and completion date is scheduled for August, 2012.
General Contractor for the project is Barr & Barr, Inc. and the designer is Payette and Associates. Special features include a design for LEED silver certification, rooftop observatory with 18-foot dome, rain garden, greenhouse, botanical garden, a world of science interactive exhibit, a multi-story glass atrium and a 200-seat auditorium.