SAC Health opened the Brier Campus in September of 2025 in San Bernardino, Calif. Designed by Perkins&Will, the $85 million outpatient facility is expected to accommodate 300,000 patient visits over the next five years to address regional health disparities. The five-story structure provides comprehensive primary care and specialty services, including internal medicine, pediatrics, orthopedics, dentistry, family medicine, ophthalmology, and women’s health.
Mass timber construction is widely lauded for its sustainability benefits, including wood’s natural carbon sequestration, lower embodied energy footprint, lighter weight compared to steel or concrete, and essential renewability. But does it pay off in terms of a university’s performance standards and cost concerns when embarking on a project as ambitious as Oregon State University’s Jen-Hsun and Lori Mills Huang Collaborative Innovation Complex, a $213 million, 143,000-sf facility dedicated to advanced programs in artificial intelligence, robotics, energy, and materials science? Scott Ashford, OSU’s dean of the College of Engineering, and Libby Ramirez, the university’s resident architect, argue that with careful strategy and an eye toward the data, the answer is “yes.”
The University of Pittsburgh is constructing the state-of-the-art BioForge center in the Hazelwood Green development, a brownfield site site that once accommodated a steel mill. Designed by HOK, the $250 million hub will drive breakthroughs and innovations in the manufacturing of precision biological medicines to improve human health.
The Jacksonville Jaguars broke ground in February of 2025 on a $1.4 billion renovation of Everbank Stadium. Created in partnership with the City of Jacksonville, the project will reimagine the facility as a year-round destination for sports, entertainment, and community connection. The vibrant hub will benefit from the addition of a partial roof cover, enlarged and elevated concourses, corner openings to improve airflow, and a reflective outer coating to reduce interior heat.
Science and engineering are constantly moving knowledge forward, and that means updates to the way we teach and do research. But buildings tend to remain artifacts of the time in which they were built. The future is flexible, and agile design with an inclusive approach can help turn old buildings into places where the next wave of scientists and engineers can flourish.
State-of-the-art labs are more efficient, cheaper, and more pleasant for the animals housed there than older designs. Despite all these advantages, most labs are decades out of date, say laboratory architect Jeff Zynda of Perkins&Will and laboratory veterinary consultant John J. Hasenau. The longtime collaborators point out that outdated labs are missing out on a broad range of improvements—from more efficient HVAC systems to a deeper understanding of light spectrums to better cage design—that are more comfortable for the animals, more useful for the scientists, and less expensive to operate.
Designing and building labs in the unlikely and constrained location of the prestigious Pacific Design Center (PDC) with Hollywood as a backdrop is a daunting task, requiring adherence to quality expectations, facilities management guidelines in a non-research environment, separation from existing high-end tenants, and compliance with infrastructure requirements. Cedars-Sinai, one of the largest nonprofit medical centers in the U.S., accepted the challenge after deciding to expand its research portfolio. Growing beyond its limited campus is necessary to accommodate the rapid growth of its research facilities and to aid in recruiting top scientists by providing innovative facilities with optimum resources. Hospital officials looked a half mile from their campus to the PDC, a designated cultural resource building complex designed by Cesar Pelli in the 1970s. Known in the 1980s and 1990s as a vibrant hub of premier art, design, and architectural showrooms, many of the tenants now have online shops rather than physical space in the cluster of buildings, leaving vacancies available for lease and an opportunity for Cedars-Sinai’s growth.
The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine opened a 154,000-sf hub in July of 2025 to enable an innovative, holistic curriculum and train future generations of providers in Arkansas and beyond. Designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox to reflect changing paradigms in medical education in function and form, the four-story structure features leading-edge educational environments including simulation centers, a maker space, and a 3,010-sf anatomy resource center.
Hospitals and healthcare systems are stepping up to manage difficult choices. COVID funds have expired, staff are difficult to find and expensive to hire, and reimbursements aren’t keeping up with inflation. For those who are planning new and renovated healthcare spaces, the focus is on becoming more labor- and cost-efficient, benefiting from technology-driven ways of delivering healthcare while not losing the personal, human touch.
State Tax University (STU) has selected Stantec to design a major redevelopment of its campus in Irpin, Ukraine. Located 12 miles from the capital city of Kyiv, this landmark institution prepares students for degrees in public finance, law, and accounting, and is the only university in the country chartered by the Ministry of Finance. The visionary project goes beyond the mere replacement of previous structures to reimagine the campus as a catalyst for academic, social, and ecological regeneration.
How did the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) convert two century-old industrial buildings -- a former Model T Ford assembly line and the manufacturing plant where the instant camera was invented for Polaroid -- into Class A research space? They accomplished it for the same cost as new construction but in less time, with a much smaller carbon footprint, and the blessing of their neighbors.
Kansas State University is constructing the Global Center for Grain and Food Innovation in Manhattan to advance agricultural science and education. Designed by Clark & Enersen, the $210 million project includes the construction of a 140,000-gsf structure and the renovation of Carl Hall and Weber Hall, creating a vibrant integrated complex. Approximately 30 percent of the space in the new facility will be allocated for collaboration between public and private partners to accelerate the generation of novel solutions to pressing global challenges.
RAJ Sports broke ground in May of 2025 on a dual-sport performance center for professional women's soccer and basketball in Hillsboro, Ore. Designed by Populous, the $150 million project will create a collaborative setting with premium wellness amenities for the Portland Thorns Football Club and a new WNBA team. Uniquely tailored to the needs of female athletes, the complex will feature an elite training core that integrates leading-edge strength and conditioning modalities with sports science, sports medicine, and advanced recovery therapies.
McGill University is nearing the end of a 10-year project to construct 500,000 sf of research and teaching space on the site of a century-old hospital. The heritage wings of the former hospital will be rehabilitated, and state-of-the-art research and teaching functions will be accommodated in the new construction that is carefully inserted into the site. Renovated space totals 150,000 sf, with 380,000 sf of new construction. Construction is under way, and the building is set for completion in 2028, at a cost of $870 million (Canadian).
Louisiana State University Health Shreveport (LSUHS) will establish the Cancer and Cardiovascular Research Facility to showcase the institution’s innovative activities and groundbreaking discoveries. Representing an investment of approximately $50 million, the first phase of the adaptive reuse project involves the renovation of 60,000 sf in a former 160,000-sf department store to provide open labs, offices, education and conference rooms, and support areas.
