University of Alabama at Birmingham Builds Science and Engineering Complex

The University of Alabama at Birmingham is constructing the $76 million Science and Engineering Complex to create a collaborative nexus for teaching and research in the basic sciences. Designed by Goodwyn, Mills and Cawood, the four-story, 138,842-sf facility will house interactive classrooms, team learning rooms, faculty and staff offices, and project-based research labs that allow for student shadowing. Instrumentation suites will be located on an isolation floor to mitigate vibration. Collocating undergraduate and graduate venues in a cohesive environment, the multidisciplinary STEM building will accommodate the departments of biology and physics, as well as providing lab and support space for the department of chemistry. UAB’s central steam and chilled water distribution systems will be extended to the site to supply efficient and economical heating and cooling services.

Lord Aeck Sargent is the laboratory design consultant for the facility with Hoar Construction as general contractor. Ground was broken on the project in August of 2021 with occupancy expected in fall of 2023. A subsequent phase of development will house the School of Engineering, with phase three providing a centralized home for the Department of Chemistry.