Students at the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, now have the latest digital technology right at their fingertips, thanks to a university construction project recently completed there by Sundt. The Construction Manager at Risk project improved the 20-year-old building’s digital infrastructure while giving it a new interior layout that focuses on open, shared spaces as well as state-of-the-art video, audio and data technology systems. The 38,668-square-foot, three-story facility also boasts new fire alarm, sprinkler and door security systems.
Sundt’s team demolished some of the interior walls of the structural brick building and reinforced the remaining walls with structural steel to create the more open floor plan. A graduate studies suite and digital newsroom are among two of the new spaces that were created. Additional improvements included a new touch-screen directory and journalism archive in the lobby as well as new projectors, furnishings and carpeting in several areas of the building.
The core of Sundt’s $6 million contract was the installation of all of the building’s new telecommunications and broadcast systems. Once the installation was complete, the team spent the final two months of the project training the owners how to use the new equipment.