DMR Architects is the architect of record for a new 30,000-square-foot student center at Middlesex College in Edison. — Rendering by AECOM/Courtesy: DMR
By Joshua Burd
A new 30,000-square-foot student center is coming to Middlesex College as part of a multiphase plan to modernize its main campus in Edison.
According to DMR Architects, a key member of the project team, plans for the facility call for student meeting and study spaces, a game room and a restaurant. It will also allow for an expanded culinary arts program that will offer two new labs — doubling the capacity of the current offering — as well as a new terrace for events.
DMR added that students will get hands-on service experience at the restaurant, which has indoor seating, as well as the 6,500-seat multipurpose sports and event facility that’s expected to break ground this fall at the Woodbridge Avenue campus.
“This is our fifth project with Middlesex College,” said Pradeep Kapoor, CEO and president of DMR Architects. “Middlesex County’s investment in higher learning exemplifies that education is a robust development area in New Jersey’s landscape to entice local students to stay in-state with unique offerings in engaging spaces.”
DMR, the architect of record for the student center, said the project reflects an education market that is responding to new demands from students, new technology and lifestyle and career cycles. Together with the multipurpose community venue and the new Middlesex County Magnet School, the facility is part of the county’s Community, Innovation and Opportunity Strategic Investment Plan.
AECOM is the design architect for the student center and the architect for the multipurpose community venue.
“The CIO Plan isn’t merely an aspiration or a ‘hope’ of ours, it’s a reality,” Middlesex County Commissioner Director Ronald G. Rios said. “For all of us who call Middlesex County home, the CIO strategy will be a game-changer in our economy and the quality of our lives — this includes improving the lives of students, faculty and staff that work and attend Middlesex College.”
DMR’s work at Middlesex College also included the 2016 design of West Hall and the 2011 design of David B. Crabiel Hall, which totaled more than $20 million in construction value, according to a news release. The 32,000-square-foot West Hall was designed to support the school’s complete change to a student services model and became the central event space on campus.
Crabiel Hall, which spans 36,000 square feet, was the school’s first newly constructed facility in the prior decade, kicking off the ensuing development while adding functional, social and educational space. It was also the first green building on campus and created a new gateway to the property.
