Clark College opened its $40 million STEM building in October of 2016 in Vancouver, Wash. Designed by LSW Architects to support programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the three-story, 70,000-sf project provides classrooms, teaching labs, and offices for the departments of biology, chemistry, geology, physics, and engineering.
Whittier College opened the Science and Learning Center in September of 2016 in Whittier, Calif. Designed by Steinberg Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the $52 million project included a complete renovation of the 89,000-sf Stauffer Science Building to create a collaborative, interdisciplinary facility for STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The College of William & Mary opened the third phase of the Integrated Science Center (ISC3) in September of 2016 in Williamsburg, Va. Accommodating programs in applied science, biology, chemistry, psychology, neuroscience, and computer modeling, the $74 million interdisciplinary facility features 13 chemistry research labs, four teaching labs, instrumentation suites, a computational lab, a biological sciences makerspace, a spectroscopy lab, and a complete machine shop.
Today’s scientific researchers are improving their productivity, research outcomes, and technological advances by using the knowledge of many disciplines. This emerging field of “convergence science” goes beyond traditional collaboration to the much larger intellectual intersection of engineering, physical sciences, life sciences, and other disciplines, plus big data. In this model, research includes funding from private sources or foundations that demand marketable results quickly.
Nova Southeastern University opened the $100 million Center for Collaborative Research in September of 2016 in Davie, Fla. Designed by ACAI Associates, the six-story, 215,000-sf facility features wet and dry laboratories, a high-performance computing environment, the AutoNation Institute for Breast and Solid Tumor Cancer Research, the NSU Cell Therapy Institute, and the Institute for Natural and Ocean Sciences Research.
The University of Texas at El Paso is planning to break ground in early 2017 on the $85 million Interdisciplinary Research Building. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 150,000-gsf project will feature collaborative research labs, a vivarium, imaging suites, core labs, a visualization suite, conference rooms, an atrium, an auditorium, and academic and administrative offices.
The University of Michigan is planning to build the $75 million Ford Motor Company Robotics Building on the North Campus in Ann Arbor. Part of the College of Engineering, the four-story, 140,000-sf facility will feature collaborative research and development labs, classrooms, offices, high-bay space, and a fly zone for autonomous aerial vehicles. Ford Motor Company will occupy a laboratory on the top floor of the building and is providing $15 million in funding for the project. Completion is expected in late 2019.
The University of Wyoming will break ground in October of 2016 on the $105 million Engineering Education and Research Building in Laramie. Designed by ZGF for maximum flexibility, the four-story, 100,000-sf facility will feature drop-down utilities and services to create reconfigurable laboratories for collaborative teaching and research.
Auburn University broke ground in September of 2016 on the Gavin Engineering Research Laboratory in Auburn, Ala. The new home for the Samuel Ginn College of Engineering will be developed through the complete renovation and expansion of an existing textile building to create an advanced teaching and research complex.
Johnson & Wales University opened the $42 million John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation in September of 2016 in Providence, R.I. Featuring an innovation lab and a technology and design hub, the three-story, 71,000-sf facility provides classrooms, faculty offices, collaboration spaces, and teaching and research labs for biology, physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, and microbiology. Ground was broken in April of 2015 on the project, which was designed by Edward Rowse Architects and Architectural Resources Cambridge.
The University of Saskatchewan will begin construction in fall of 2016 on the CAD$63 million Collaborative Science Research Building in Saskatoon. The facility will accommodate research on water security and plant science, enabling the development of advanced biofuels, water purification systems, drought-resistant crops, and sustainable pest-control mechanisms. Completion is expected in spring of 2018.
Brown University is constructing an $88 million facility for the School of Engineering in Providence, R.I. Designed by Kieran Timberlake, the three-story, 80,000-sf project will support collaborative research in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and clean energy technologies. The sustainably designed facility will feature open-plan laboratories, cleanrooms for bioscience and nanotechnology, an imaging suite, collaboration spaces, and an advanced multidisciplinary undergraduate teaching lab.
Williams College will begin construction by fall of 2016 on a $204 million renovation of the Unified Science Center in Williamstown, Mass. Featuring flexible laboratories for interdisciplinary teaching and research, the project includes construction of two new structures totaling 177,000 sf. The first 77,000-sf building will house research labs for biology, chemistry, and physics and is slated for completion in May of 2017.
Leading-edge interdisciplinary facilities like the New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH) at Rutgers University, as well as facilities in Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., are transforming academic research culture through the use of open building designs that foster cross-discipline collaborations and “emergent outcomes.” This approach to culture-driven facility design is also being successfully deployed at other universities across the country in an effort to improve the way research institutes operate and compete for grants and contracts.
The Pennsylvania State University is planning a $44.5 million renovation and expansion of the Agricultural Engineering Building in University Park. Providing multidisciplinary laboratories and classrooms, the project will add 35,000 sf to the existing 64,533-sf (44,581-asf) structure. The building houses the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, a department jointly administered by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.
