Energy Use Reduction

The University of California, San Diego broke ground in June of 2018 on the $627 million North Torrey Pines Living and Learning Neighborhood. Covering over 10 acres, the 1.6 million-gsf mixed-use project will provide 2,000 undergraduate beds, 1,200 underground parking spaces, a craft center, and dining and retail amenities. New academic facilities will include the Public Engagement Building to accommodate social sciences programs, and an arts and humanities facility housing the departments of history, literature, and philosophy.

Renovating an old science complex can be a cost-effective way to transform a 1970s relic into an education facility for the 21st century. The Gant Science Complex, built between 1970 and 1974 on the Storrs campus of the University of Connecticut, is big—285,000 sf—but outdated and environmentally inefficient, with an R value in the single digits. It also reflects old-fashioned science teaching and research methods, making it hard to enable the kind of collaborative learning used today.

The University of Connecticut celebrated the opening of the $95 million Engineering and Science Building in June of 2018 in Storrs. Designed by Mitchell Giurgola Architects, the five-story, 118,000-gsf structure provides open-concept laboratories, instructional spaces, collaboration areas, and faculty offices to accommodate STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

Saint-Gobain, a leading manufacturer of innovative building materials, has released the results of an occupant comfort study for its new North American headquarters in Malvern, Pa., a facility that has attained double LEED Platinum certification. Developed in partnership with the University of Oregon’s High Performance Environments Lab (HiPE), the longitudinal study revealed that a systems-based design approach utilizing multiple solutions and strategies can have a stronger collective impact on a building’s ability to optimize occupant comfort.

The Pennsylvania State University celebrated the opening of the 93,500-sf Agricultural Engineering Building in June of 2018 in University Park. The $44 million project included a 16,000-sf renovation of the historical front section of the structure, demolition of the remainder of the building, and approximately 77,000 sf of new construction.

NYU Langone Health opened the Helen L. & Martin S. Kimmel Pavilion and the Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital in June of 2018 in New York. The 21-story, 830,000-sf Kimmel Pavilion provides 374 private patient rooms, 30 surgical rooms, a conference center, and an outdoor roof terrace. The facility offers acute and critical care services in neuroscience, hematology–oncology, cardiothoracic care, and bone marrow and solid organ transplantation.

The University of Calgary is engaged in a multiyear construction and renovation of its campus core in Alberta, Canada. The MacKimmie Complex and Professional Faculties Building Project includes the complete renovation of an existing tower and block and the construction of a new atrium linking the two structures. The facilities will provide large classrooms, open study areas, and small group spaces to promote collaborative learning.

Highline College will begin construction in summer of 2018 on the 46,000-sf Health and Life Sciences Building in Des Moines. Designed by McGranahan Architects, the $30 million project includes construction of an addition and the complete renovation of Building 26. Providing flexible, integrated learning environments, the completed facility will offer classrooms, labs, faculty offices, and study spaces.

Charles Schwab is engaged in a major expansion of its 50-acre Gracy Farms campus in north Austin. In June of 2018, the financial services company opened two five-story buildings providing 469,000 sf of office space, as well as an amenities center and a parking garage. Featuring a 275-seat multipurpose auditorium and an onsite yoga studio, the complex offers integrated campus walking trails and flexible sit/stand workstations.

Nottingham Trent University began construction in June of 2018 on two new STEM buildings in Nottingham in the United Kingdom. Located on the Clifton campus, the £22 million Medical Technologies Innovation Facility will provide sophisticated research and development labs, write-up areas, instructional spaces, offices, and a conference room. Designed by GSSArchitecture, the two-story interdisciplinary building will accommodate industry partnerships to accelerate the commercialization of new health technologies.

AstraZeneca opened its 163,000-sf South San Francisco facility in May of 2018. Located in the Cove at Oyster Point, the project houses a total of 400 employees from four organizations: Acerta Pharma, MedImmune, Pearl Therapeutics, and Technology Innovation & Delivery Excellence (TIDE). Designed by HOK to promote collaboration and innovation, the open lab and office environments incorporate AstraZeneca’s iWork philosophy, an activity-based approach that embraces industry best practices.

North Carolina State University broke ground in April of 2018 on the $150 million Fitts-Woolard Hall in Raleigh. Accommodating the Fitts Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering and the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, the 250,000-sf project will provide leading-edge laboratories and classrooms, as well as administrative space for the office of the dean.

Southern New Hampshire University is planning to build a 67,000-sf facility for the College of Engineering, Technology, and Aeronautics in Manchester, N.H. Designed by Wilson Architects, the three-story STEM building will provide teaching labs, flexible classrooms, collaboration spaces, a computer lab, and suites for robotics, materials science, and 2D/3D printing. The facility will feature four CDIO (Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate) hubs where students can work on projects from conception through operation to create real-world solutions and products.

Global Switch, a leading owner and operator of advanced data centers in Europe and Asia-Pacific, will implement modular construction methodologies in the delivery of its $209 million Singapore Woodlands facility. Gammon Construction, a joint venture of Balfour Beatty and Jardine Matheson, will precast 70 percent of the structure offsite, as well as using Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the delivery of the project.

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) inaugurated the 145,300-sf Dow Innovation Center in May of 2018. Created in partnership with The Dow Chemical Company, the facility offers sophisticated research laboratories for creation of advanced technologies for water, oil, and gas processing, and the development of innovative construction materials and coatings. The project was designed by HOK and Kirksey Architects with Vanderweil Engineers as MEP engineer.