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.
Construction began in November of 2024 on the Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre (ASEC) in Moncton, New Brunswick. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in association with EXP, the adaptive reuse project will transform the existing Gulf Fisheries Centre into a four-story complex equipped with leading-edge laboratories and technologies.
The University of Southern California broke ground in November of 2024 on the $200 million Bloom Football Performance Center in Los Angeles. Designed by HNTB, the 163,000-sf facility will position USC to recruit top national talent as part of its transition to the Big Ten Conference. A strategic redevelopment of the John McKay Center will create a vibrant new home for Trojan Football and support the university's entire student-athlete population.
The Canadian Centre for Advanced Material Manufacturing (CCAM) opened in Mississauga in fall of 2024. The transformation of the existing building was designed by the Canada FIRST joint venture, a collaboration between HOK, Architecture49, and WSP. The ambitious project represents the first milestone in the Laboratories Canada program, a strategic initiative by the federal government aimed at modernizing and enhancing science facilities across the nation.
Stanford University is building a consolidated home for the Graduate School of Education that will accelerate the creation of innovative new pedagogies and learning modalities. William Rawn Associates and CAW Architects designed the approximately 150,000-sf project, which includes the construction of a four-story, 42,700-sf structure. The three-story, 97,547-sf Graduate Education Building is also undergoing a complete renovation.
The University of Rochester Medical Center has repurposed a suburban retail center as the Saunders Orthopaedics & Physical Performance Center in Henrietta, New York. Designed by Perkins&Will and SLAM, the adaptive reuse project transformed the Marketplace Mall into a 372,400-sf healthcare destination. The renovation of 227,000 sf of existing space involved significant upgrades to building systems, minimizing vibration impacts to diagnostic imaging equipment and robotic-assisted surgical procedures.
The University of Kansas is constructing the Gateway District, a vibrant destination for sports performance and training at the heart of the Lawrence campus. Designed by HNTB and Multistudio, the $448 million project includes the transformation of David Booth Kansas Memorial Stadium to provide a new seating bowl layout with improved sightlines. Improved concourse circulation will be accompanied by more space for concessions, accessible seating, and restrooms.
A $139 million project to expand the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia (UVA) will provide cutting-edge business education well into the future by offering students the best technological resources, on-site and remote learning environments, and a variety of spaces to collaborate and socialize. The construction of a new 80,000-sf structure and renovation of a historic building, both slated for completion in March 2025, will grow McIntire beyond the 156,000 sf of space it has called home since 2008. The hub of buildings addresses a space deficit and creates a growing commerce complex, providing a link between the university, its students, and nearby business districts.
The General Services Administration (GSA) completed construction on Building 53 at the Denver Federal Center in September of 2024. Designed by Gensler, the complex project involved the transformation of almost 200,000 sf in a 1940s-era structure into a modern and collaborative office environment. The sustainable facility collocates five federal agencies:
Lehigh University's new Health, Science & Technology Building is designed to break down silos between academic departments, to enhance faculty research and better prepare students for tomorrow’s transdisciplinary world. Three different lab modules—with no walls between them—facilitate easy transitions from one use to another, as well as expansion and contraction as needs change. And collaboration spaces are strategically located between labs throughout the building.
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 decreasing amount of time researchers spend in their labs is changing research facility design and space allocation, with an increased need for lab support space, a more significant reliance on core facilities, the creation of additional write-up and data analysis environments, and the purposeful inclusion of collaboration spaces.
The new Library and Learning Center at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) has transformed the school’s former library from a quiet place filled primarily with stacks of books into a welcoming and dynamic environment focused on providing students access to the resources needed to succeed academically. In addition to the library, the renovated facility includes the learning lab, which brings together tutoring support previously housed in three different locations, a student academic computing center, nine group study rooms, two academic classrooms, and a One-Button studio for video production. The number of computers available for student use throughout the entire facility has increased from 30 to 300, an important advantage for the many CCP students who do not own personal computers.
