Master Plans

Mayo Clinic is planning a $648 million expansion of its Phoenix medical facilities. The Arizona Forward Project will add 1.4 million square feet to the existing 1.7 million-sf campus, increasing the number of inpatient beds from 280 to 374. A six-story patient tower will be constructed offering an outpatient surgery center, clinical offices, inpatient rooms, and rehabilitation space. The emergency department will be housed in a new three-story structure that will also accommodate laboratory medicine, radiology, and pharmacy.

At the University of Minnesota, a renovation/construction project to add science space required detailed integration with the campus district plan, as well as preservation of historic features. The result was enhanced physical connectivity on campus, a careful blending of older and new construction, and improved energy performance. Tate Hall is one of 260 structures on the main Twin Cities campus, which is so large that planners have divided it into districts for planning purposes. The urban campus straddles the Mississippi River, and Tate, a horseshoe-shaped building first constructed in 1926, sat largely empty, as most of the physics department had recently moved to a new research building.

NASA Glenn Research Center will begin construction in fall of 2018 on the Research Support Building in Cleveland. Walsh Construction Company has been awarded a $32.7 million contract to build the two-story, 64,000-sf facility, which will provide collaborative engineering suites, open and private offices, conference rooms, training areas, and dining amenities for approximately 164 employees.

Boeing will lease approximately 100,000 sf of research space to house the Aerospace and Autonomy Center in Cambridge, Mass. Part of MIT's Kendall Square Initiative project, the facility will be located on four floors of a 17-story, 400,000-sf building currently under construction at 314 Main Street. Occupancy is expected in late 2020. The $2 billion Kendall Square Initiative includes the development of six sites to provide research space, offices, housing, retail, and academic facilities.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is planning to break ground in November of 2018 on a $134 million student housing and dining complex. Developed and operated in partnership with EdR, the $107.8 million, 267,500-sf residential project will include living units, classrooms, maker spaces, two lounges with demonstration kitchens, two computer learning commons, and music practice rooms. A $26.1 million, 38,000-sf dining commons will also be constructed, with occupancy of both structures expected in fall of 2020.

16 Tech Community Corporation will break ground in fall of 2018 on the $30 million Advanced Research and Innovation Facility in Indianapolis. The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute will lease space in the five-story, 120,000-sf building, which represents the first phase of construction in the 16 Tech Innovation District. The 60-acre development will include a second office and research building, a 250-unit apartment complex, and renovated warehouse facilities.

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.

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.

The trustees of Kent State University have approved a ten-year campus master plan that represents an investment of $1 billion over the next decade. Enhancing the iconic Front Campus, the three-phase project will create healthy living-learning environments connected by a walkable campus core linking purpose-built classrooms, labs, and studios.

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD) has mandated that Building Information Modeling (BIM) be implemented in the final phase of its $9 billion construction program. LACCD, which is the largest community college district in the United States and comprises nine colleges, is also targeting net-zero energy consumption in the sustainable development of its extensive portfolio.

What the university needs: A spacious, modern science building, with an additional 5,000 sf. What the university has: An old, dark, rather cramped classroom building, built for a different era in education, with inadequate systems, and no room to expand. It’s a common problem on university campuses, and in many cases solving it requires flexibility, creativity, and patience. At the University of Pittsburgh, Howard Skoke, AIA, of EwingCole Architects and Engineers and the university’s own Ilona Beresford worked together on a six-month master plan to devise a $65 million modernization. The project, scheduled to begin construction in May 2019, will open the building to new uses and adapt its systems for health and efficiency. At the same time, it will preserve a historic exterior and cost far less than a new building.

Del Mar College is creating the Southside Campus in Corpus Christi, Texas. Representing an investment of $93 million, the first phase of construction will include: 

• a 103,281-sf campus hub providing student services, administrative offices, and a library
• a 104,717-sf STEM building offering core classrooms, labs, and lecture rooms
• a 49,775-sf culinary arts building housing teaching labs and a 450-seat community meeting room

Gensler provided architectural services for the initial campus master plan.

Canadian Nuclear Laboratories began construction in February of 2018 on three new facilities in Chalk River, Ontario. Representing an investment of over CAD$100 million, the project includes:

A traditional master plan process runs the risk of being an exercise in futility if the result is a document that sits on a shelf and becomes quickly outdated. This often happens because an institution does not know how to convert existing data into meaningful information that can guide discussions and decision-making related to facilities and campus development. Pairing the intelligent use of available data with design processes that engage individual users and stakeholders’ perspectives can be a game-changer. This combination—what we refer to as a “living” master plan—can tell a more accurate story and become a better and more refined decision-support tool than an obsolete master plan or a one-time data analysis report, and can provide value based on real-time data long after the plan is “completed.”

The University of Illinois at Chicago broke ground on a $100 million mixed-use living and learning complex in January of 2018. Designed by Solomon Cordwell Buenz, the project includes a 10-story undergraduate residence hall and a two-story academic building.