HDR, Inc.

A onetime University of Maryland student who struck it big in the tech industry returned to donate significant funding for a new computer science center—one that brings Silicon Valley facilities, visible building tech, and up-to-the-minute environmental controls into College Park. Brendan Iribe left school and ended up cofounding Oculus, which was later sold to Facebook for $2 billion. He returned to Maryland with a vision for inspiring innovators of the future by providing them with spaces in which to create new technologies.

Brandywine Realty Trust began construction in March of 2021 on the $287 million West Tower at Schuylkill Yards in Philadelphia. The 28-story, 570,000-sf structure will provide 200,000 sf of laboratory and office space for biomedical and life sciences companies, as well as 9,000 sf of retail space and 326 luxury apartments. On the ninth floor, a 29,000-sf lifestyle club will offer a sophisticated fitness center, a swimming pool, lounges, conference rooms, and co-working venues.

The Ohio State University is planning to construct a $1.79 billion inpatient hospital at Wexner Medical Center in Columbus. Providing 820 beds in private rooms, the 1.9 million-sf complex will integrate exceptional patient care environments with leading-edge facilities for research, medical education, and clinical training. Designed by HDR, the hospital will include an emergency department, surgical suites, an imaging center, a neonatal intensive care unit, and a 1,900-space parking garage.

York University will begin construction in mid-2022 on the 53,420-sf Neuroscience Laboratory and Research Building in Toronto. Designed by HDR, the two-story facility will provide sophisticated wet labs, research offices, and labs for neuropsychology and kinesiology. Located on the Keele Campus, the project will be physically connected to the existing Sherman Health Science Research Centre by a lower-level corridor.