Interdisciplinary Research

The University of Kansas is planning to begin construction in summer of 2026 on the Makers' KUbe in the heart of its Lawrence campus. The School of Architecture & Design will occupy the $120 million facility and collaborated on its design with Bjarke Ingels Group, BNIM, and StructureCraft. Showcasing timber tectonics, traditional joinery, and sustainable materials, the 50,000-sf facility will act as a living curriculum with exposed structural and MEP systems.

The University of South Carolina is planning to begin construction in 2025 on the School of Medicine Columbia. Serving as the centerpiece of a $300 million campus, the 300,000-sf facility will feature active learning classrooms, extensive medical simulation spaces, interdisciplinary laboratories, and a health science library. An adjoining biomedical research wing will advance the creation of novel therapies and treatments, with a central landscaped courtyard offering settings for informal exchange.

The University of Pennsylvania opened the $173 million Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science & Technology in December of 2024 in Philadelphia. Designed by Behnisch Architekten, the seven-story building accommodates the Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER), an undergraduate dual-degree initiative run jointly by the School of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Science.

Missouri University of Science and Technology is planning to construct the Bioplex, a $130 million facility for advanced research and education in life sciences, biomedicine, and biomedical engineering. ZGF Architects is partnering with Christner Architects to design the 128,000-gsf structure, which represents the final phase of the Havener Arrival Complex. The multidisciplinary building will provide lab environments for 24 research teams, including wet bench labs and associated support spaces, as well as an ABSL-2 vivarium.

Case Western Reserve University celebrated the official groundbreaking of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB) in October of 2024 in Cleveland. Designed by HGA in partnership with local firm DVA Architecture, the 189,000-sf facility will collocate more than 60 principal investigators from the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The $300 million structure will offer both wet and dry labs, a shared core lab, and advanced technology platforms.

Rice University’s Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, which opened in September 2023, is a 250,000-gsf center for advanced materials sciences designed to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together researchers in the fields of chemistry, biomolecular engineering, physics, and nanoengineering who had previously been scattered across 13 different buildings around the campus. 

The vision of biomedical research as a collective effort is resoundingly clear in the $237.5 million Pelotonia Research Center, the first building to be completed in the 350-plus-acre Carmenton district on the campus of The Ohio State University (Ohio State) in Columbus. Opened in May 2023, the center integrates almost 100,000 sf of wet labs, 25,000 sf of computational labs, and 20,000 sf of core labs in a single facility designed to host interdisciplinary collaborations and public-private initiatives that focus on solving some of the most critical health challenges. With life science as the backbone of the research endeavor, current projects range from modeling cancer progressions to 3D printing of patient-specific anatomic models. 

UK Research and Innovation opened the £93 million National Quantum Computing Centre (NQCC) in Harwell in October of 2024. Located on the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Campus in Oxfordshire, the 43,055-sf facility features sophisticated dry research environments where multidisciplinary teams can design, build, and operate quantum computers. Available to users from across industry and academia, this purpose-built hub is envisioned as a catalyst for the discovery and the scale-up of commercially viable technologies.

The University of Arizona opened the $99 million Grand Challenges Research Building (GCRB) in October of 2024 in Tucson. Designed by ZGF Architects and BWS Architects, the 115,000-sf facility offers flexible labs for programs in optics, quantum computing, advanced communications, and biomedicine. With instructional venues, study areas, and meeting rooms strategically located on the ground floor, the seven-story project features robust maker spaces and advanced instrumentation suites to drive interdisciplinary discovery.

Carilion Clinic broke ground in late October of 2024 on the Taubman Cancer Center in Roanoke, Va. Designed by HDR, the $100 million facility will embody a fundamental shift in the delivery of oncology services. The six-story, 257,000-sf building will accommodate the needs of an increasing number of patients, who will benefit from direct access to precision medicine, sophisticated clinical trials, and leading-edge instrumentation.

The University of New Mexico opened the $43.2 million College of Nursing and Public Health Excellence (CON-PHE) building in Albuquerque in October of 2024. Designed by Dekker in association with RDG Planning & Design, the 93,000-sf structure consolidates activities previously dispersed in ten separate locations, while also providing critical space for expansion. Flexible teaching labs and classrooms are equipped with innovative technologies to support interactive learning, training, and exploration.

Michigan State University broke ground in October of 2024 on the $200 million Plant and Environmental Sciences Building in East Lansing. Designed by HED and CannonDesign, the 200,000-sf facility will accelerate the discovery and development of global solutions for food security. Approximately 40 principal investigators and their teams will occupy the structure, which will feature leading-edge wet labs, growth chambers, and instrumentation suites.

Colorado State University broke ground in October of 2024 on ATLAS, the Advanced Technology Lasers for Applications and Science facility in Fort Collins. Created in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fusion Energy Sciences program, the development is made possible by a $150 million public-private partnership with Marvel Fusion. A trio of ultra-high-power lasers that can be used separately or in combination will drive innovative discoveries in clean energy, medicine, and fundamental research.

Caltech opened the $148 million Resnick Sustainability Center in October of 2024 in Pasadena, Calif. Featuring transdisciplinary laboratories with specialized equipment, the 79,727-sf facility enables investigators and innovators from across the Caltech community to engage in collaborative discovery. The four-story structure currently houses four research hubs:

Cal Poly Humboldt broke ground in October of 2024 on the $100 million Engineering & Technology Building in Arcata, Calif. Designed by AC Martin with Research Facilities Design as laboratory design consultant, the 74,000-sf facility will feature multipurpose learning environments equipped with adaptable infrastructure for optimal programmatic flexibility.