Boston College will begin construction in fall of 2019 on the $150 million Integrated Science Building in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Designed by Payette, the five-story, 156,500-sf facility will house the school’s new engineering and computer science departments as well as accommodating the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society.
Williams College is building the 105,000-sf North Science Center in Williamstown, Mass. Work began on the $130 million project in mid-2018 with the demolition of the existing Bronfman building, followed by excavation to enable the new five-story facility to reach several floors below grade. Designed by Payette, the structure will provide a 200-person auditorium, classrooms, labs, offices, and collaboration spaces for the departments of psychology, geoscience, and mathematics and statistics.
The Wistar Institute is partnering with University Place Associates to construct a 240,000-sf life science discovery hub in the University City district of Philadelphia. Designed to accelerate innovation by providing shared resources and critical infrastructure, the collaborative project will provide leasable laboratories and offices for biotech firms, research companies, and academic institutions.
Seattle University broke ground in May of 2019 on the $115 million Center for Science and Innovation. Designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering and Mithūn Image, the five-story, 111,000-sf facility will house the College of Science and Engineering's programs in biology, chemistry, and computer science.
Trinity College Dublin opened the $90 million Trinity Business School in May of 2019 in the Republic of Ireland. Offering six stories above grade and two below, the 123,000-sf facility features an innovation and entrepreneurship hub, smart classrooms, a 600-seat auditorium, a rooftop conference room, and a 200-person dining area. Leveraging natural lighting and ventilation strategies, the project was designed to optimize occupant health and wellbeing and features a central atrium, a living wall, a brise soleil, and a double-skin façade with high-performance glazing.
Franklin College dedicated its new Science Center in May of 2019 in Franklin, Ind. Designed by BSA LifeStructures, the $17 million renovation and expansion project transformed the existing 30,000-sf science building into a two-story, 51,000-sf facility featuring flexible learning spaces that combine laboratory and lecture functions.
The U.S. Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office announced up to $33.5 million in funding in May of 2019 for early-stage research and development of advanced building construction techniques to reduce energy costs. The Advanced Building Construction with Energy-Efficient Technologies & Practices (ABC) initiative aims to develop deep energy retrofit and new construction technologies that holistically tackle a combination of envelope, heating, cooling, water heating, and ventilation issues.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory broke ground on the $95 million Translational Research Capability facility in May of 2019 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Located on a brownfield site on ORNL’s main campus, the three-story, 100,000-sf building will provide laboratory and office space to support research programs in computing, quantum information, and materials science.
Novo Nordisk's global production will be entirely powered by renewable energy by early 2020, with a ten-year goal of achieving zero carbon emissions from operations and transportation. The pharmaceutical company has made a $70 million investment in a 105-megawatt-dc solar energy installation to be built in Pender County, North Carolina.
The University of Maryland opened the $152 million Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering in April of 2019 in College Park. Housing the Department of Computer Science and the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, the six-story, 215,600-sf facility will support groundbreaking research and education programs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, data science, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and virtual and augmented reality.
Simon Fraser University opened the CAD$126 million Sustainable Energy Engineering building in April of 2019 in Surrey, British Columbia. Designed by Revery Architecture with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 220,200-sf facility will accommodate programs in renewable energy, sustainable manufacturing, mechatronics, and clean power generation.
Colorado State University opened the $20 million JBS Global Food Innovation Center in April of 2019 in Fort Collins. Designed to promote innovation in food science, nutrition, animal welfare, and food safety, the 36,000-sf facility includes a comprehensive meat harvesting and processing center, a culinary research hub, 200-seat auditorium with a demonstration area, a retail store, and a café.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst opened the $62 million Business Innovation Hub in April of 2019. Designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group) with Goody Clancy as architect of record, the 72,000-sf project represents an expansion and partial renovation of the Isenberg School of Management. Featuring flexible collaboration and social spaces, the technology-rich circular structure consolidates Isenberg’s faculty and staff in a single location to promote connectivity.
The Center for Active Design will release Fitwel v2.1 in June of 2019. Promoting the creation of facilities that optimize health, Fitwel was developed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the Center for Active Design acting as its licensed operator. The updated version of Fitwel includes a new construction pathway for pre-occupancy and post-occupancy projects and now provides both a Design Certification and a Built Certification. Existing facilities will continue to be eligible for certification in the Built category.
The University of Michigan opened the $261 million Biological Science Building in April of 2019 in Ann Arbor. Designed by SmithGroup and Ennead Architects to accommodate 90 principal investigators and their teams, the interdisciplinary building offers 84 wet and dry research labs arranged in open neighborhoods for optimal flexibility.
