The University of Toronto is planning to create Canada's largest university-based innovation node with the construction of the 750,000-sf Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre. Funded in part by a $100 million donation, the interdisciplinary center will feature vertical gardens, soaring atria, and integrated collaboration areas, as well as offering leasable space for startup companies.
Boston University is engaged in a $112 million renovation and expansion of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Designed by SmithGroup, the project includes renovation of 53,100 sf of existing space and construction of a seven-story, 41,900-sf addition to provide a 140-seat auditorium, student collaboration areas, classrooms, teaching labs, offices, and clinical space. A new façade will bring natural light into the flexible facility, which will include a café and lounges for students and residents.
Marist College is partnering with Health Quest to create a $75 million, 100,000-sf facility for the Marist Health Quest School of Medicine in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Located on the Vassar Brothers Medical Center campus, the technology-rich facility will leverage artificial and augmented intelligence platforms, as well as Marist's advanced learning management systems, to transform medical education and the delivery of patient care. Occupancy is expected in summer of 2022.
Virginia Commonwealth University opened the $87 million College of Health Professions in March of 2019 in Richmond. Designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering, the eight-story, 154,000-gsf facility unites nine departments in a sustainably designed structure that is expected to attain LEED Silver certification.
Marquette University opened the $24 million Athletic and Human Performance Research Center in March of 2019 in Milwaukee. Featuring 5,400 sf of core research labs for the study of human performance, the 46,000-sf facility provides strength and conditioning facilities for the department of athletics, as well as locker rooms and support areas for the school's golf and lacrosse programs.
Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the fourth quarter of 2018. Key points include:
Arizona State University and Wexford Science+Technology broke ground in March of 2019 on a $77 million research building on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The public-private project will be owned by Wexford and is being created in partnership with Ventas and the city of Phoenix. Half of the seven-story, 225,000-sf facility will house research labs for ASU's Biodesign Institute, the College of Health Solutions, and the College of Nursing and Health Innovation.
Bates College broke ground on the 65,000-sf Bonney Science Center in March of 2019 in Lewiston, Maine. Designed by Payette to foster collaboration, the three-story facility will provide flexible teaching and research labs, classrooms, and study areas to support programs in chemistry, biology, and neuroscience. The interdisciplinary project will include shared instrumentation rooms, a two-story interaction lounge, and a vivarium.
Universities have always been magnets for scholarship, but they increasingly act as magnets for economic development and community-building, as well. This trend has enormous implications for the future of learning, work, and real estate, as academic anchors look to leverage their ideas and the neighborhoods around them to generate entirely new industries and communities. The resulting developments, anchored by deep and diverse talent pools, in turn attract employers who are eager to collocate with universities to tap their resident brainpower.
Augustana College is planning to build the $16 million Austin E. Knowlton Center for Innovation in Health, Wellness and Human Performance in Rock Island, Ill. Accommodating a new program in kinesiology, the hybrid academic and fitness center will offer classrooms, team spaces, faculty offices, a joint resource area, exercise labs, and an aquatic center with a 25-yard pool and a therapeutic pool. Completion is expected in 2020.
Lehigh University is planning to build a $100 million facility for the College of Health in Bethlehem, Pa. Designed by Wilson HGA, the five-story, 190,000-gsf facility will promote interdisciplinary education and research by collocating programs in health, science, and technology. Featuring a transparent design with minimal hard walls, the project will offer open labs and learning studios to enhance collaboration and interaction.
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center opened the $22.3 million Academic Classroom Building in Odessa in February of 2019. Designed to promote active learning, the two-story, 51,000-sf facility provides studio classrooms, lecture halls, physical and occupational therapy training labs, research labs, and departmental offices for the schools of medicine, nursing, and health professions.
Leeds Beckett University is building the Carnegie Teaching and Research Building in the United Kingdom. The £45 million project was designed by Sheppard Robson to provide an iconic home for the Carnegie School of Sport. The center will offer sophisticated teaching and research facilities including a hypoxic lab, a health and wellbeing studio, enhanced strength and conditioning spaces, changing rooms, and recovery areas. The roof of the building will accommodate a walking track and a covered 60-meter sprinting track for performance training and analysis.
VCU Health and Children’s Hospital of Richmond will begin construction in spring of 2019 on a $350 million inpatient pediatric hospital in Richmond, Va. Representing the completion of the Children's Pavilion, the 16-story, 500,000-sf facility will provide 86 beds in private rooms with the capacity to expand to over 120 beds in the future. The hospital will also accommodate six observation beds, a hybrid operating room, two general operating rooms, education spaces, and family rooms.
An emerging new model for hybrid translational healthcare facilities combines scientific research with university and professional athletic programs to increase community engagement and student wellbeing. From integrating sports training facilities with medical clinics and applied research, to incorporating fitness gyms, running tracks, and rock-climbing walls into student lounges and public spaces, the combination of athletics and recreation with other programs offers an innovative vision for academic facility design.
