The fast-moving nature of biotechnology innovation means architects and designers for Regeneron have to plan for researchers’ requirements to change by the time new laboratories open on the Tarrytown, N.Y., campus. The campus is undergoing a $1.8 billion expansion, adding 900,000 sf of new laboratory and office space, along with additional parking, amenities, and infrastructure to support research and development.
Prior to the development of a master plan for expansion of research facilities at the University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder), campus facility planners conducted a 15-month strategic visioning initiative that resulted in the creation of a digital space planning and visualization tool called PREVIEW.
When Wayne State University in Detroit released its campus plan—the Wayne Framework—in 2018, no one could have guessed how prophetic the school’s new approach would turn out to be. Rather than creating a campus plan that sets a specific schedule of chronological tasks and building projects, the Wayne Framework instead focuses on how the school should evaluate priorities on an ongoing basis, allowing the facilities department to remain flexible enough to adapt to unforeseen circumstances. Within a few years of launching the Framework, those circumstances would include a global pandemic, catastrophic flooding, and numerous university leadership changes.
JLL’s Global Future of Work survey has explored the evolving world of corporate real estate since 2011. This year, it analyzes the key priorities, challenges, and strategies of more than 2,300 professionals and decision-makers from around the wold. Recent insights show that companies are adopting a cautiously positive outlook in this increasingly dynamic and ambiguous environment. With plans to increase and rebalance organizational headcount in the coming years, many are ready to invest in their real estate as they expect to increase their budget and footprint.
The University of California has selected Flad Architects as executive architect for the UCLA Research Park Master Plan Study, a roadmap for the transformation of the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall in Los Angeles into a nexus for discovery and innovation. Leasable lab and office environments will enable industry, academic, and government partners to benefit from collocation with two multidisciplinary research centers.
East Los Angeles Community College District is planning to construct the $145 million Kinesiology, Wellness, and Athletic Complex in Monterey Park, Calif. Designed by HED, the 110,000-sf structure will act as a prominent campus gateway where students can connect with their peers, the local community, and the therapeutic power of nature. The biophilic facility will showcase the college’s health science programs to those attending sporting events, while catalyzing the evolution of the west campus as a destination for personal and social wellbeing.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., is a highly collaborative organization at the forefront of both research and clinical care, with 20% of clinical faculty supporting research studies and 12,000 studies under way at any given time. A central paradigm of its translational research workplace is a “condo” model, where a group of investigators with a well-defined mission elect to share research space and equipment to foster collaboration and innovation. Now, a recent initiative is harnessing data in new ways to build upon and expand the power of the condo to advance Mayo Clinic’s mission for decades to come.
UNC Charlotte has plotted a course for the future that prepares the campus for an 11% enrollment increase overall, with a 13% increase in STEM disciplines. The priority is student success, a UNC systemwide performance-based metric for a new funding model that ties funding to student success and graduation rates rather than just enrollment numbers. The goal is for more students to graduate on time with less debt. The strategy to achieve that goal includes creating the kinds of spaces that students need and want in order to succeed, with more opportunities for active, hands-on learning.
The University of Connecticut has spent 10 years and $1.5 billion expanding and modernizing its science, technology, engineering, and math offerings, and increasing the number of STEM students by 4,000. The initiative, called Next Generation Connecticut (NextGenCT), included the construction of a new 198,000-sf facility and the renovation and expansion of the largest STEM building on the main campus in Storrs. The approach to both projects was to focus first on modernizing the way those subjects are taught and then on designing the space itself.
University Health Network of Toronto, Canada’s largest research healthcare system, increased space efficiency and improved employee morale by reengineering its practices and workspaces to accommodate a hybrid work model. Of the 6 million sf occupied by the network, 1 million sf was office space, 200,000 sf of which was used by people who could be hybrid workers. The transition required a concentrated change management strategy, an investment in technology, and a reconfiguration of space and the way it was managed.
Trammell Crow Company is developing Science Square in Atlanta to provide Georgia Tech with state-of-the-art facilities for learning, research, and innovation. Ground was broken in September of 2023 on the third phase of construction at the site, a 416,500-sf complex with two towers linked by a shared circulation core. Envisioned as a vertical quad, this dynamic social zone will offer myriad collaboration venues with a large gathering area for presentations and events.
The University of California, Riverside is constructing a vibrant new home for the School of Business. Created by the design-build team of Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners and McCarthy Building Companies, the $87 million facility will centralize academic activities currently dispersed across campus while accommodating significant programmatic growth.
Wexford Science + Technology will break ground in mid-2024 on Brightwork, the anchor building for the University of Washington’s planned innovation district in Seattle. The 345,000-sf facility will be constructed by Wexford for an estimated cost of $282.5 million, with UW investing $72 million for tenant improvements. After an 80-year lease, the 11-story structure will revert to university ownership.
The University of South Carolina is planning to break ground in 2025 on a new home for the School of Medicine in Columbia. Accommodating an expanded annual class size of 130 students, the highly transparent facility will feature world-class academic environments such as active learning classrooms, extensive medical simulation spaces, and a health science library. The 300,000-sf complex will catalyze biomedical discovery with a dedicated research building housing multidisciplinary laboratories.
Mayo Clinic is planning a $5 billion redevelopment and expansion of its healthcare campus in Rochester, Minn. Designed by Foster + Partners and CannonDesign, the strategic initiative will introduce new facilities that combine innovative care concepts and digital technologies to transform the patient experience, advance translational research, and improve outcomes. Comprising five new buildings, related infrastructure, and utilities, the project will provide a total of approximately 2.4 million sf of space.
