The Penn State Board of Trustees gave the final go-ahead for the new School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture (SALA) Building at its meeting Friday, where university officials also reported on plans to expand the Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. The $26.6 million SALA Building, to go up between the Palmer Museum of Art and North Halls, will be the university's first new building to be certified as sustainable by a national council of environmentally friendly designers. Its facade will feature brick, low-energy glass windows and recycled copper.

The Penn Stater expansion, which was approved last week by the managers of the Penn State Innovation Park, will double the number of guest rooms to 300 and create a less-congested entryway for visitors. The $26 million project will be funded by revenue from the hotel, university officials said.