Collaboration

The $93 million Agriculture & Natural Resources Building (ANRB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville provides enhanced research, education, and collaboration with advanced technology, specialized labs, flexible classrooms, a large commons area, a 500-seat auditorium, lecture halls, seamless connections to nearby academic buildings, and a welcoming pedestrian plaza to engage the community. A biophilic design connects students, faculty, and staff with nature through the use of clerestory windows and a green roof that acts as an exterior living room with research gardens.  

The University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire broke ground on the $340.3 million Science and Health Sciences Building in June of 2024. Designed by HOK and Potter Lawson, the 330,000-sf facility will collocate STEM courses in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics with programs in nursing, psychology, pre-professional health sciences, and public health and environmental studies. The vibrant five-story structure will feature an accessible sixth level with a greenhouse, a telescope observatory dome, and a mechanical room.

The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School opened the $325 million New Education and Research Building in June of 2024 in Worcester. ZGF Architects and ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge designed the 350,000-sf project to drive discovery in gene therapy, molecular medicine, and the neurosciences, as well as housing the departments of neurology and neurobiology.

Johns Hopkins University is constructing The Village, an innovative student center located on the Homewood campus in Baltimore. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group as a social engagement hub for all members of the Hopkins community, the $250 million facility will provide an array of flexible spaces that foster connection and collaboration.

Columbia University broke ground in late May of 2024 on the first all-electric biomedical research building in New York City. Designed by KPF, the 77,000-sf facility will drive innovation in genetic and genomic science to create new treatments for some of the most significant threats to human health today. The eight-story structure will feature state-of-the-art laboratories linked by "collaboration corners" with welcoming lounges for informal interaction and exchange.

The University of Rochester opened the newly expanded Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in May of 2024 in Brighton, N.Y. Featuring Class 1000 cleanrooms, the 66,600-sf addition includes general and wet-bench research venues, a laser computing center, and open office environments. The three-story structure will enable the construction of the AMICA laser system, prototyping of the NSF OPAL lasers, and the creation of next-generation targets, diagnostics, and optics for national security efforts.

The sudden pivot to virtual learning during the COVID pandemic has changed higher education for the foreseeable future. Interviews with more than 250 students, professors, and space planners at more than 100 campuses around the world reveal that 18- to 24-year-old students missed being on campus and are glad to be back. But they have changed; the institutions have changed; and campuses don’t quite fit anyone’s needs anymore. Learn the 10 insights from these interviews that can help shape the future of your campus design.

North Carolina State University is constructing the $180 million Integrative Sciences Building in Raleigh. Designed by ZGF Architects and Moseley Architects, the 164,947-sf facility will provide leading-edge environments for programs in chemistry, biochemistry, and the biological sciences. The collaborative five-story structure will offer two floors of teaching labs, as well as an advanced research floor integrating physical and life sciences in a way not possible anywhere else on campus.

Designs by ZMM Architects and Engineers and CannonDesign are underway for a new facility that will bring together under one roof three West Virginia state laboratories and researchers from two universities, creating novel opportunities for collaboration. McClaren, Wilson & Lawrie (MWL) are the lab planners for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and State Police Forensics, and Potesta & Associates are providing civil engineering services. Housed in the new building will be:

Michigan State University (MSU) and Henry Ford Health have joined forces to construct the $335 million Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Research Center, which will house 84 principal investigators and their research teams focused on cancer, neuroscience, infectious diseases, immunology, and public health. The first floor will accommodate a large core lab including an imaging suite. An entire floor will be dedicated to the Nick Gilbert Neurofibromatosis Research Institute.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture broke ground in May of 2024 on the $160 million National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture (NCRRPA). Created in partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the transformative development will enable the Agricultural Research Service to explore new solutions for sustainable crop production, water management, and animal husbandry.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison broke ground in May of 2024 on the College of Letters & Science’s new Irving & Dorothy Levy Hall, a 136,000-sf facility that will serve as the new home for eight academic departments. The building was designed by Bora Architecture & Interiors in collaboration with Ramlow/Stein Architecture + Interiors, with C.D. Smith Construction serving as the construction manager.

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) broke ground in May of 2024 on the 68,000-sf, $109.7 million Princeton Plasma Innovation Center (PPIC), a laboratory and office facility designed by SmithGroup and dedicated to research in the fields of microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and sustainability sciences, with a focus on achieving fusion energy by 2040. 

Rice University broke ground in May of 2024 on an expanded home for the Jones Graduate School of Business in Houston. Designed by Architecture Research Office (ARO) and Kirksey Architecture, the $54.5 million project will offer a range of instructional settings including seminar rooms, team learning rooms, two 65-seat classrooms, and two 120-seat classrooms. Approximately 13 breakout rooms interwoven throughout the 112,000-sf structure will promote interaction and exchange.

The University of California, Riverside will begin construction in summer of 2024 on the Undergraduate Teaching & Learning Facility. Offering a seating capacity of 1,700, the $156.3 million building will provide much-needed instructional space for multiple colleges and departments. The 100,700-gsf structure will accommodate two lecture halls, 19 classrooms, six biology labs, and four chemistry labs. An expanded dance studio with a sprung floor will be complemented by an outdoor performance area.