UNC Asheville Breaks Ground for Signature Science and Multimedia Building; Largest of the Bond-Funded Projects Gets Under Way This Fall

Building rendering compliments of O’Brien/Atkins
O’Brien/Atkins Associates of Raleigh is the building designer. Contractors are Rentenbach Construction of Knoxville, Bolton Construction and Service of Asheville, and Haynes Electric Construction of Asheville.

UNC Asheville broke ground this morning for the Steve and Frosene Zeis Science and Multimedia Building, an 88,500-square-foot structure that will be the new home for the departments of Chemistry, Biology and Multimedia Arts and Sciences.

The statewide Higher Education Improvement Bond Referendum of 2000 has provided $22.2 million for the $24-million project. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall and be completed in spring 2007.

“We are at a critical juncture in our collective dream to provide state-of-the-art science and multimedia experiences for our campus community. It is at this point where our dream is about to develop an actual physical presence in our midst, on our campus. It begins with the first shovelful of earth that will be dug today,” said Chancellor Anne Ponder at the ceremony, which was attended by some 250 people. 

The Steve and Frosene Zeis Science and Multimedia Building will be sited on an existing parking lot in the academic core of the campus. It will have 44 teaching and research labs, two multimedia lab classrooms, a computer lab, seminar rooms, a large classroom and 36 offices. Environmentally friendly design aspects include advanced storm water management, low-emitting interior materials, water efficient landscaping, and significant use of natural light throughout the structure.

The new building will see significant use. Each semester, about 1,700 students are enrolled in some 100 classes taught by the three departments.

“I’m excited about the possibilities of a new building,” said Hayley Schiebel, a senior from Knightdale, N.C., with a double major in chemistry and drama. “I know with more advanced equipment and better facilities the prospects are endless. Science has the ability to change our lives, to find comfort in medicine and to give us insight into our environment. In such a nurturing setting as UNC Asheville, I can only expect great things. I truly hope that future students will appreciate the opportunity to learn and grow in this new facility, and one day become successful scientists in an ever-changing world.”

The building was named by the UNC Asheville Board of Trustees in honor of Steve and Frosene Zeis, longtime friends of the University who recently presented a $3 million gift to the University, the largest private gift in UNC Asheville’s history.

Photo compliments of Blake Madden
CHANCELLOR AND COMPANY: From left to right: Dr. Keith Krumpe, Biology Dept. chair; Lorraine Walsh, Multimedia Arts and Sciences Dept. chair; Dr. Betsy Wilson, Biology Dept. chair; Board of Trustees Chair Charles Tolley; Provost Mark Padilla; and Chancellor Anne Ponder

The location of the building will impact a small portion of the Charles G. Tennent Park; the bulk of the park will remain intact. Over the past year, many plants in the affected area of the park were moved to other campus locations; additional plants will be moved prior to construction. The building site will also eliminate 68 existing parking spaces, but the loss will be offset by a new parking area at the Physical Plant complex, another bond-funded project currently under construction. Public transportation, bicycling facilities and carpooling options are being enhanced.

UNC Asheville has received $50.1 million through the 2000 Bond Referendum, which is allowing the University to undertake the largest capital program in its history. The Highsmith University Union, which opened in August 2004, was funded largely through the referendum. A new classroom building to replace the outmoded facilities in Carmichael Hall is under construction and will be completed in November 2005. Renovations to Zageir Hall will begin later this academic year. The new Facilities Management Complex will be completed in December 2006.

- News provided by UNCA dauncanewsciencemultimediabldgbb1