By Gao Liang
In the morning of January 12, the renovation and expansion project of the University of Shanghai for Science and Technology 516 Jungong Road Campus ushered in a commencement day. The project covers a total area of 76,000 square meters, including above-ground building area of 45,500 square meters and underground building area of 30,500 square meters, with a total investment of approximately RMB 572 million, and it is forecast to complete construction in June 2023.
The renovation and expansion engineering project will construct two single buildings, one is a teaching complex for innovative and entrepreneurial activities, the other is a sports fitness center with round-the-clock constant temperature swimming pools, while implementing the construction of underground garages (with civil air defense) (adding 510 parking spaces). After the project is completed, it will further improve teaching and experimental conditions of the USST, and provide a more specialized platform for innovative and entrepreneurial education of the university; in the meantime, campus outlook, work, study and living conditions of faculties and students will be upgraded as well.
At present, in two campuses of Jungong Road Campus and Fuxing Road Campus, there are 17 schools (departments) and 25,700+ full-time students, including 16,700+ undergraduates and 9,000+ graduate students. The USST is currently focusing on the construction of medical engineering convergence, artificial intelligence, additive manufacturing and other cross-disciplines closely associated with the development of Shanghai's three strategic emerging industries, and therefore modernized space support and hardware guarantee are required.
With reference to the architectural planning area standard for Shanghai universities and colleges, based on the existing scale of nearly 26,000 students, the university sees a total building gap of up to approximately 180,000 square meters. Meanwhile, to address the USST needs for deepening physical education reform, improving physical fitness conditions of faculties and students, diverting ground parking pressure and protecting its historical features, etc., all this requires the university to make an overall planning and reinforce campus infrastructure construction, coupled with a rational utilization of resources. On November 20, 2019, the USST rolled out the "Renovation and Expansion Project of the USST 516 Jungong Road Campus" on the Jungong Road campus.
With respect to architectural style, after the completion of project, it will add radiance to century-old academic Gothic-style architectures at the USST and forge a unique style of its own.
As introduced by Wu Jianyong, Party Committee Secretary of the USST, the university is currently actively launching the renovation and expansion project of 1100 Jungong Road campus, including student apartments, Graphic Information Center building and the like, with a total area of 60,000+ square meters. Besides, the ongoing underground passage construction of Hai'an Road that connects north and south campuses of university is also racing against time under vigorous support of relevant district departments. "In the future, as new teaching buildings, sports fitness center, new student dormitories, underground garages and underground passages are put into operation, the university is expected to effectively alleviate relative shortage of schooling space, inconvenient passage of north and south campuses and other contradictions, to boost the construction of a high-level university with stronger hardware conditions."
