The UNC School of Dentistry recently razed it’s 1967 Dental Research Center in preparation for construction of the new Dental Sciences Building. The 200,000 square foot facility will greatly relieve its space deficiencies and enable the school to expand it’s class size by about 33% to 100. A much needed 220-seat auditorium is included in the plan as well as new lecture halls and flexible research space. (Currently the largest auditorium seats 90.)

The rendering shown portrays only one wing of the complex. In fact, the rendering in the school’s official release (.PDF) more accurately shows building’s role as it brushes the corner of Columbia and Manning.

The new facility makes a great impression with a more neoclassical veneer than the horrendously depressing modernist Brauer Hall. While the new style creates an amalgam in the complex, much wisdom was used in abandoning the old style.

The new building is aiming for LEED Silver Certification, which includes heat recovery mechanical systems, high performance glazing, rainwater collection, day lighting optimization, and incorporation of materials containing recycled content or renewable resources.

The school anticipates a February groundbreaking and is rooting for the space to be complete in 2011. More can be seen in the school’s official presentation (.PDF)

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