The Alice L. Walton Foundation is planning to establish a new STEM-focused university in Bentonville, Ark. Designed by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and Polk Stanley Wilcox, the 422,000-sf campus will be built on the former site of the Walmart Home Office and will encompass a trio of leading-edge buildings. A makerspace spanning 130,614 sf will drive discovery while showcasing physical experimentation and rapid prototyping to the wider community.
Ivy Tech Community College broke ground in May of 2026 on the Nursing and Health Sciences building on its north campus in Fort Wayne, Ind. The 50,000-sf facility will expand enrollment capacity, modernize healthcare training, and strengthen the region’s pipeline of healthcare professionals. Designed by CSO Architects to replicate a hospital environment, the leading-edge structure will provide students with an immersive educational experience that aligns with real-world clinical settings.
Colorado State University is constructing the Advanced Technology Lasers for Applications and Science (ATLAS) facility in Fort Collins. The $160 million building will enable research in fusion energy, fundamental science, and advanced materials characterization to solve pressing challenges related to clean energy.
Princeton University broke ground in May of 2026 on a comprehensive expansion and renovation project that will create a unified home for the Department of Computer Science. Designed by Frederick Fisher and Partners alongside Shepley Bulfinch, Eric and Wendy Schmidt Hall will catalyze innovative computational thought that unlocks new frontiers of learning and drives the discovery of vital solutions with real-world impact.
The University of Houston officially began construction on the Innovation Hub in April of 2026. Designed for seamless connectivity by Page (now part of Stantec), the 78,000-sf facility will house the Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship, the Energy Transition Institute, and the Dakri Center for Economic Inclusion. Advanced laboratory space for science and engineering will enable critical work in fields such as health, energy, security, and sustainability.
The University of San Diego broke ground in May of 2026 on the Shiley STEM Initiative Building to drive excellence in education and research. Designed by Gensler, the 70,000-sf facility will feature labs for biomedical engineering, robotics, neuroscience, and food science, as well as a medical device lab for prototype development. Flexible instructional venues will be accompanied by teaching labs, maker spaces, and a lecture auditorium.
When the University of Pittsburgh set out to renovate Hillman Library, the project began with a relatively modest goal: Remove asbestos from the plenum space above the ceilings. What followed over the next decade was something far more ambitious—a four-phase transformation that reimagined what a 21st-century academic library could be, and in doing so, reshaped the university’s relationship with its campus, its students, and its surrounding neighborhood.
Georgia Tech opened the Thomas A. Fanning Student-Athlete Performance Center in May of 2026 in Atlanta. Designed by SLAM, the leading-edge facility spans over 100,000 sf and serves all 17 of the Yellow Jackets’ sports programs. The institution’s first-ever sports science lab features markerless motion-capture cameras, force plates, and advanced gait-analysis technologies.
The University of California, Santa Cruz is planning to construct Heller Student Housing South to provide bed capacity for 1,290 upper-division students. Designed by WRNS Studio, the vibrant complex will comprise four buildings that range from five to seven stories in height. Catering to a range of lifestyle preferences, units will be available in a mix of singles, triple studios, two- and four-bedroom apartments, and co-living accommodations. Amenities will include a market, a mailroom, laundry venues, and additional multipurpose areas.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst opened the $43 million School of Public Health and Health Sciences Hub in May of 2026 to drive innovation, interdisciplinary discovery, and student success. Consolidating the school’s six departments from seven disparate locations across campus, the 26,800-sf facility was designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates to support contemporary approaches to team-based learning. Flexible classrooms of varying sizes are accompanied by seminar rooms, open collaboration areas, and advising offices.
The University of West Florida broke ground in April of 2026 on an advanced intelligence, cybersecurity, and engineering research facility in Pensacola. Building 129, also known as the Synapse, was designed by Caldwell Architects and Perkins&Will to serve as the base for the Center for Computational Intelligence and the Center for Cybersecurity and AI.
Murray State University broke ground in April of 2026 on the $60 million Veterinary Sciences Building in Murray to address workforce shortages throughout Kentucky. Designed by Hafer, the 88,000-sf facility will house the College of Veterinary Medicine and the Hutson School of Agriculture’s programs in veterinary technology and pre-veterinary medicine. The one-story structure will be organized into three wings interconnected by support spaces.
When Yale University set out to reinvest in its sciences, the challenge was as much logistical as architectural. The university is constrained by finite capital budgets and an urban campus in New Haven, Conn., that is dense with heritage buildings. Several interlocking institutional initiatives shaped the approach, including the Yale Sustainability Plan, the Yale Planetary Solutions program, and a Science Strategy Committee report issued in 2018. That report identified five high-priority areas: integrative data science, quantum science, neuroscience, inflammation, and environmental and evolutionary sciences. Two projects—the Kline Tower and Kline Geology Laboratory—directly addressed the data science and environmental and evolutionary sciences priorities.
The University of California, Berkeley held a ribbon-cutting ceremony in May of 2026 to celebrate the approaching completion of the Barbara and Gerson Bakar Gateway building. The $557 million facility will house the College of Computing, Data Science, and Society (CDSS) and bring together approximately 1,325 faculty, students, and staff to elevate education and accelerate AI-driven discovery.
Texas A&M University broke ground in May of 2026 on the Meat Science and Technology Center in College Station. Promising to revolutionize applied agricultural research, teaching, and extension, the 85,600-sf structure will house an array of key programs and initiatives for the Department of Animal Science and the Department of Poultry Science. The $133.36 million building will feature modern laboratories and classrooms, as well as processing spaces for cows, swine, poultry, sheep, and goats.
