Engineering

The University of Texas at El Paso is constructing the $80 million Advanced Manufacturing and Aerospace Center to provide the College of Engineering with leading-edge environments for research, teaching, and innovation. The four-story, 93,000-gsf facility will feature hands-on learning venues where students can gain the crucial skills needed by local employers such as NASA and Blue Origin. Offering research labs, fabrication suites, high bay spaces, and administrative offices, the highly flexible structure will initially house the Aerospace Center and the W.M.

Cal Poly Humboldt is planning to construct the $100 million Engineering & Technology Building in Arcata, Calif. Designed by AC Martin to promote experiential learning, the 74,000-sf facility will feature multipurpose labs and classrooms equipped with adaptable room technologies for optimal programmatic flexibility. The three-story structure will offer a range of research venues, collaboration spaces, and gathering areas, as well as an interdisciplinary maker space that opens onto an outdoor fabrication zone.

The University of Portland opened the $40 Million Shiley-Marcos Center for Design & Innovation in January of 2024. Designed by Opsis Architecture with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 43,800-sf building features collaborative environments for hands-on learning and discovery. The cross-disciplinary structure provides maker spaces, ideation studios, prototyping and fabrication suites, a propulsion and combustion lab, and dedicated shops for working with metal, wood, and electronics.

Tulane University opened the Steven and Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering in January of 2024 in New Orleans. Designed by Payette and Waggonner & Ball, the 76,000-sf building offers flexible research venues, sophisticated classrooms, and common spaces for increased student and faculty interaction.

Trammell Crow Company is developing Science Square in Atlanta to provide Georgia Tech with state-of-the-art facilities for learning, research, and innovation. Ground was broken in September of 2023 on the third phase of construction at the site, a 416,500-sf complex with two towers linked by a shared circulation core. Envisioned as a vertical quad, this dynamic social zone will offer myriad collaboration venues with a large gathering area for presentations and events.

The University of Colorado Boulder saved a mid-century building from demolition by refurbishing it -- and funding it -- in stages. They continued to use the building as the students and faculty decided the best use for each space, overcoming issues of low floor-to-floor heights, inadequate mechanical systems, and asbestos. 

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln opened the $115 million Kiewit Hall in January of 2024. Designed by Clark & Enersen and Ballinger, the 181,500-gsf facility provides leading-edge environments for undergraduate education programs in engineering and construction management. The Garage, a 20,300-sf maker space, includes a high bay space, 3D printers, laser cutters, a CNC machine, a paint booth, and shops for working with wood, metal, and electrical components.

Boston University opened the $305 million Center for Computing & Data Sciences in early 2023 to create a dynamic new home for the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, the Department of Mathematics & Statistics, and the Computer Science program. Designed by KPMB Architects, the 19-story, 345,000-sf structure comprises a four-story podium topped by 13 floors, with MEP systems located on additional basement and penthouse levels.

Princeton University's Environmental Studies and School of Engineering and Applied Science (ES+SEAS) project, scheduled for completion in 2025, stretches 1,700 feet along a narrow 17.5-acre site. The complex will provide 670,000 gsf of lab, office, and collaboration space for five of the university’s science and engineering entities in three interconnected, four-story structures and a Commons. The project is notable not only for its massive scale but for its focus on fostering connections within and among groups that work in many different ways. The design realizes the university’s vision of creating identity, community, collaboration, inspiration, flexibility, and efficiency in an environment whose hallmark is a rich variety of bespoke non-lab space configurations that follow uniform standards for everything from office dimensions to lounge furnishings.

The University of Michigan broke ground in December of 2023 on a $250 million research and education building in Detroit. Designed by KPF, the University of Michigan Center for Innovation (UMCI) will accommodate graduate programs in computer science, robotics, artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, financial technology, and sustainability. The 200,000-sf facility will also foster engagement with area residents by offering professional development classes, certificate courses, and workforce training opportunities.

Arizona State University broke ground in December of 2023 on Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 (ISTB12). Located on the Polytechnic campus in Mesa, the $185 million project will provide the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering with a centralized home for the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks.

The University of Sheffield broke ground in November of 2023 on an £80 million aerospace manufacturing research center in the United Kingdom. Catalyzing the aviation industry’s efforts to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the 29,700-sf Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) building will house the Boeing-led Isothermic High-Rate Sustainable Structures (IHSS) project. This world-class innovation hub will support the development and testing of new technologies to address the demand for lighter commercial aircraft.

The University of Florida opened the $150 million Malachowsky Hall for Data Science & Information Technology in Gainesville in November of 2023. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson and Walker Architects, the 263,440-sf facility is a dynamic catalyst for the application of advanced computing and artificial intelligence technologies to a broad spectrum of industries.

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) broke ground on the $131 million Innovation, Entrepreneurship, and Careers Building in October of 2023. Designed by Gensler and Overland Partners, the 180,000-sf facility will accommodate applied education courses in business, engineering, and the sciences. Immersive learning venues will equip students with the crucial skills required by local employers, who are actively partnering with UTSA to create job training and internship opportunities.

Universities are creating spaces that merge engineering and health sciences education to produce doctors who not only can treat their patients but also can design innovative medical devices to solve the problems they encounter.