Award of Merit Higher Education/Research

Photo Courtesy of Barton Marlow

The $31.5-million, four-story Towson University West Village Commons mixed-use student-services facility in Towson, Md., was built into a steep hillside between two resident halls. The construction team shored up the hillside and benched the soil, so crews could work on a flat surface.

The top two floors of the 85,000-sq-ft facility were built into a 3:1 slope that was finished with an exterior plaza space and staircase constructed with a series of stepped concrete retaining walls. The project began in June 2009 and was completed last July with 232,052 man-hours and no lost-time accidents.

Key Players

Developer/Owner: Towson University, Towson, Md.

Construction Manager: Barton Malow, Baltimore

Lead Designer: GWWO Inc./Architects, Baltimore

Civil Engineer: Site Resources, Phoenix, Md.

Structural Engineer ReStl Designers, Gaithersburg, Md.

MEP Engineer: James Posey Associates, Baltimore

Submitted by: Barton Malow

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