Latest Reports

Too many expensive new science buildings are failing to meet their critical operational requirements. The number one cause of this costly and damaging outcome is a common yet preventable gap between 'build' and 'operate' that results in post-construction O&M staffing being too little, too late, and unprepared. But wait, there’s an algorithm for that!

When Texas A&M created a new set of buildings for its veterinary school, it sought to provide spaces that would work for current methods of teaching sciences, but also flexibility to accommodate future change. Change, as we all know, can be difficult, so the process included not just demountable walls and flexible furnishings, but also a focus on change management among the faculty.

An emerging new model for hybrid translational healthcare facilities combines scientific research with university and professional athletic programs to increase community engagement and student wellbeing. From integrating sports training facilities with medical clinics and applied research, to incorporating fitness gyms, running tracks, and rock-climbing walls into student lounges and public spaces, the combination of athletics and recreation with other programs offers an innovative vision for academic facility design.

When the small, commuter-focused University of Washington campus in downtown Tacoma decided to renovate the old Tacoma Paper and Stationery building, the idea wasn’t just to create a biomedical research lab, or an electrical engineering facility, or an urban studies center, or a community meeting place, or maker space. The goal was to accomplish all of those things in one facility, and to serve as a home away from home for students, faculty, and the greater Tacoma community, in spaces that were welcoming, informal, and multi-functional. Some of the biomed labs and classrooms have glass walls; many rooms have movable furniture and adaptable designs; and shared spaces allow individuals or groups to just pop in without reserving them in advance.

The primary mission of the new Innovation and Discovery Center (IDC) is to promote interdisciplinary STEM education and undergraduate research at Ursinus College. The IDC functions as a “link” building between two existing buildings—Pfahler Hall (home of chemistry, physics/astronomy, math/computer science, and environmental studies) and Thomas Hall (home of biology and psychology). By linking these two buildings, the IDC creates a unified science and technology center for the campus. This new three-building complex is organized to promote connections and synergies among the faculty and students in the various disciplines—between neuroscience and biology; biology and psychology; chemistry, biochemistry and molecular biology; health, exercise physiology, and biology; environmental studies and all of the sciences; and mathematics, computer science, and physics and astronomy. The building houses teaching labs, research labs, lab support spaces, a vivarium, a learning commons, active learning classrooms, a maker space, seminar rooms, and faculty offices, all in support of the interdisciplinary mission of the college.