Academic Medical

Texas Tech University is initiating an $86 million expansion of its Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Designed by Hill International, the 183,000-sf project includes the 56,000-sf Education, Research & Technology Building and the 17,000-sf West Expansion Building. A third facility adjoining an existing library will create an additional 110,000 sf of teaching and research space, and will feature a 240-seat flipped classroom and a sophisticated gross anatomy lab.

The John J. Sbrega Health and Science Building at Bristol Community College in Fall River, Mass., unites the programs of chemistry, biology, and medical and dental education in a single facility that is designed to be net-zero in energy usage, meaning it generates at least as much energy as it uses over the course of a year. The two-story, 50,600-sf building is the first of its kind in the Northeast.

UMass Medical School opened the $20 million Massachusetts Facility for High-Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy in October of 2016 in Worcester. Featuring a 2,000-sf microscopy suite housing two cryo-EM systems, the $5 million Titan Krios and the $4 million Talos-Arctica, the 4,100-sf laboratory will provide academic investigators and industry partners with advanced imaging capabilities for biomedical and pharmaceutical research.

The University of North Carolina Wilmington will begin construction in January of 2018 on the $66 million Allied Health Building. Designed by EYP, the 170,000-sf facility will house the College of Health and Human Services, providing classrooms and labs for programs in nursing, health science, clinical research, and social work. The construction manager is W.M. Jordan. The project will be delivered in phases with completion expected by early 2020.

The University of North Texas broke ground in October of 2016 on the Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building in Fort Worth. Supported by $80 million in state funding, the 173,000-sf facility will accommodate a progressive, team-based pedagogy for health sciences and interprofessional education. Designed by Treanor Architects, the building will house the College of Pharmacy, the North Texas Eye Research Institute, and the Institute for Molecular and Therapeutic Development.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center will construct the National Center for Health Security and Biopreparedness on its Omaha healthcare campus. Occupying the entire ground floor of the planned Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning, the 30,000-sf facility will provide advanced simulation suites and inpatient quarantine areas for the management of infectious diseases such as Ebola. The biocontainment training center is supported by $19.8 million in funding from the U.S.

The University of Texas at Arlington broke ground in October of 2016 on the $125 million Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building. Designed by Page and ZGF Architects to support team-based learning and discovery, the six-story, 220,000-sf facility will provide two floors of instructional space, with research activities occupying four floors and a basement level.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJI) is creating the Center for Device Innovation at Texas Medical Center (CDI @ TMC) in Houston. Designed by Gensler, the facility will feature a 26,000-sf makerspace for the development of advanced medical devices, from initial concept through to commercialization. The center is JJI’s second collaborative R&D project at the Texas Medical Center and is slated for occupancy in July of 2017.

Because it’s expensive to heat and cool outdoor air drawn into a building, workspaces tend to be ventilated only enough to meet ASHRAE minimums or achieve a LEED credit. But air quality profoundly affects workers’ cognitive performance, and even modest increases in ventilation can yield productivity and health benefits that far exceed the cost, says Joseph Allen, assistant professor and director of the Healthy Buildings Program at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Houston Methodist West Hospital is engaged in a $177 million expansion of its medical campus near Katy in Houston. Designed by Page, the six-story, 228,000-sf facility will provide 95 patient rooms, imaging suites, 10 technology-rich operating rooms, a dedicated post-partum unit, an emergency department, and shell space. The general contractor for the project is Vaughn Construction. Completion is expected in mid-2018.

Methodist Health broke ground in October of 2016 on a $280 million expansion of Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Designed by HKS and Self + Tucker Architects to enhance flow and efficiency, the project includes a nine-story, 440,000-sf tower housing private patient rooms, a comprehensive cancer center, outpatient clinics, healing gardens, and the two-story Transplant Institute. General contractor Turner Construction is utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) in the construction of facility.

Research has begun at the £650 million Francis Crick Institute in London. Designed by HOK in partnership with PLP Architecture, the 10-story, 980,000-sf facility can accommodate 1,250 scientists and 250 support staff engaged in interdisciplinary biomedical research. The Crick Institute represents a partnership between University College London, Imperial College London, and King’s College London, working in collaboration with the UK Medical Research Council, the Wellcome Trust, and Cancer Research UK.

Karolinska University Hospital has awarded Skanska the $140 million contract to construct a 312,000-sf medical building in Huddinge, Sweden. The project will include eight interventional services rooms, 21 exam rooms with integrated imaging technologies, 23 surgical suites, and a sterilization center. The sustainably designed facility is expected to attain Gold certification from the Sweden Green Building Council. Construction began in June 2016 and completion is slated for 2019.

University of Chicago Medicine broke ground in September of 2016 on a $43 million emergency department and trauma center. Located in Hyde Park adjacent to the Center for Care and Discovery, the 29,017-gsf facility will feature four trauma resuscitation bays, private patient rooms, a bariatric room with ceiling lifts, and a medical biocontainment unit. Completion is expected in early 2018.

Jersey Shore University Medical Center is building the $265 million HOPE Tower in Neptune, N.J. Designed by WHR Architects, the 10-story, 299,000-sf cancer research and treatment facility will feature a 58,000-sf patient care center offering radiation therapy, medical oncology, surgical specialties, and minimally invasive therapies. The tower will also include space for academic programs, simulation training suites, biomedical laboratories, and a nine-story parking garage.