Donation-supported, new projects keep moving forward at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Caruth Hall replaces an aging building, and Annette Caldwell Simmons Hall will serve a growing School of Education and Human Development, says Philip Jabour, executive director of the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction at SMU.

The university has �wealthy alumni and is improving the campus,� says David R. Stanford, project designer for Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanford of Fort Worth, which designed the new buildings and a renovation of the ballroom at the university�s Umphrey Lee Center. The firm has completed about nine projects for SMU.

�Everything on the SMU campus is collegiate-Georgian,� says Stanford, adding that the buildings appear traditional from the outside but inside feature the latest technology.

Hahnfeld Hoffer Stanford held design charrettes with university officials. �In the design process, we start with programming,� Stanford says.

The university�s board of trustees has established that all new buildings must meet LEED-silver certification, �which helps show our support of green building,� Jabour says.

Annette Caldwell Simmons Hall?Rogers O�Brien Construction of Dallas began construction in October on the $10-million, 45,000-sq-ft Annette Caldwell Simmons Hall, consolidating the School of Education�s facilities in one building. The three-story building should be substantially complete in July, in time for the start of the fall semester.

�We�re ahead of schedule,� says Leon Davis, senior project manager for Rogers O�Brien.

Crews worked some weekends and changed the water-proofing materials so the project could be dried in earlier than planned, adds Marcus McShan, project manager with Rogers O�Brien.

Seventy-eight piers, reaching to depths of 30 ft, and grade beams support the basement. A crawl space exists under the rest of the three levels of cast-in-place concrete and structural-steel mechanical attic. Brick veneer clads the exterior and Vermont slate the roof.

The site offers limited space for material laydown, and so the contractor is using just-in-time delivery.

The project is tracking for LEED-gold certification. Green features include use of fly ash in the concrete, low-flow fixtures and a rainwater collection system that will provide gray water for irrigation. Rogers O�Brien is recycling more than 90% of the construction waste.

As part of the project, Rogers O�Brien also will realign University Boulevard north of Simmons Hall.

Caruth Hall?The $20-million Caruth Hall will be the third building for the Bobby B. Lyle School of Engineering.

�It�s become a gateway to the engineering quad,� Stanford says.

Austin Commercial of Dallas demolished the former 1950s-era Caruth Hall in September 2008 and began excavation for the new three-story structure.

�The original Caruth Hall met its useful life,� Jabour says. The university decided to demolish the building and build a 64,000-sq-ft facility because of cost and additional space needs, he adds.

The basement walls sit on a pier foundation. The building also features a cast-in-place concrete frame topped with a structural-steel mechanical attic, which Stanford says was the most economical to build.

The exterior features brick, white cast stone and stone columns and cornices. Gables grace the pitched, slate-shingle roof. A functioning, glass-fiber-reinforced concrete copula opens to the lobby rotunda, 85 ft below, drawing natural light into the interior. It also features an outdoor amphitheater.

�It will be beautiful when finished,� says Christopher Andews, project manager with Austin Commercial. The project was substantially complete in April.