Industry News

The University of Macau officially broke ground in December of 2009 on its new Hengqin Island campus in Zhuhai, China. Providing world class education and research facilities, the campus will be able to accommodate over 10,000 students. Completion is expected within three years.

The Campus Biometropolis development will be constructed in Mexico City. Designed by Foster + Partners, the 71 hectare medical city will include research, instructional, and healthcare facilities. The mixed-use project will contain a hospital, laboratories, offices, a conference center, a hotel, shops, and apartments. The campus will accommodate companies focused on six key areas of medicine: cancer, cardiovascular, infectious diseases, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, and geriatrics.

The University of Illinois College of Medicine is planning to construct a 24,000-sf cancer research center in Peoria. Construction will begin on the $13 million facility by summer of 2010.

Indiana University opened its $37.2 million data center in Bloomington in December of 2009. The facility is one of the first buildings at Indiana University's new technology park and houses information technology infrastructure and mission critical systems, including supercomputers Big Red and Quarry. The secure building is designed to increase reliability and protect from power outages and natural disasters. SmithGroup provided programming, site planning, architectural design, and interior design for the project.

The University of Central Oklahoma opened the $12 million Forensic Science Institute in Edmond in December of 2009. The 35,000-sf facility houses four classrooms, faculty offices, a 165-seat auditorium, a conference room, an atrium, and a multipurpose evidence recovery bay. Construction began on the project in October of 2006. The technology-rich facility is located adjacent to the $30 million Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation Forensic Science Center that opened in May of 2008.