Higher Education

The Pennsylvania State University is planning a $44.5 million renovation and expansion of the Agricultural Engineering Building in University Park. Providing multidisciplinary laboratories and classrooms, the project will add 35,000 sf to the existing 64,533-sf (44,581-asf) structure. The building houses the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, a department jointly administered by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.

Appalachian State University is building a $79 million facility for the Beaver College of Health Sciences in Boone, N.C. Designed by LS3P, the 203,000-sf project will consolidate teaching and research space currently dispersed in seven buildings across campus, and will accommodate programs such as nursing, nutrition, exercise science, social work, and health care management.

Angelo State University selected Hill International in July of 2016 to design a $26.4 million facility for the College of Health and Human Services. Located in San Angelo, Texas, the 52,000-sf building will provide technology-rich labs for interdisciplinary research as well as instructional spaces, faculty offices, teaching labs, study lounges, a 100-seat seminar room, and a centralized administrative suite. Angelo State University is a part of the Texas Tech University System.

The University of New Mexico broke ground July of 2016 on a $35 million facility in downtown Albuquerque that will act as a living laboratory for entrepreneurial education. Representing the first phase of the planned ABQ innovation district, the six-story, 160,000-sf Lobo Rainforest Building will provide collaboration spaces, meeting rooms, business incubators, and student accommodation. The Air Force Research Laboratory will also lease space in the building, which will offer access to advanced technologies and instrumentation suites.

Morgan Advanced Materials is planning to construct the Carbon Science Center of Excellence in University Park, Pa. Located in Penn State's Innovation Park, the 30,000-sf facility will support collaborative R&D with academic and industry partners in the field of carbon research, with a focus on materials and application engineering. Occupancy is expected in late 2017. Based in the United Kingdom, Morgan Advanced Materials is a global leader in the production of engineered carbon and ceramic materials.

The University of New South Wales is building the AUD$125 million Biological Sciences Building in Sydney, Australia. Located on the Kensington campus, the 234,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research laboratories for the School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences and the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences. Designed by Woods Bagot to optimize flexibility and adaptability, the project will utilize mobile lab benching systems in collaborative research areas located adjacent to support zones with dedicated write-up spaces.

A hands-on, interactive, and problem-oriented approach to learning is taking campus planning and design by storm, focused on equipping students with the skills they need to tackle near-term and future challenges globally. Increasingly, universities are recognizing students’ desire to connect their educational experience with real-world applications, and “maker spaces” provide that intersection. They also appeal to big industry and help to connect students with job opportunities, particularly in STEM fields.

Texas Tech University selected Hill International in July of 2016 to design two new facilities on its Lubbock campus. Comprising the Education, Research & Technology Building and the West Expansion Building, the $83.7 million, 150,000-gsf project will provide modular open labs for interdisciplinary research, principal investigator offices, core instrumentation suites, academic offices, a seminar room, and support space. 

Berea College is building the $72 million Margaret A. Cargill Natural Sciences and Health Building in Berea, K.Y. Housing the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, nursing, and physics, the 125,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will support collaborative education with technology-rich ‘classatories’, team project labs, and seminar rooms for problem-based learning.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is planning to build the $102 million Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning in Omaha. The 183,742-sf facility will act as the headquarters of an initiative called iEXCEL (Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning) and will feature virtual immersive reality environments for medical training. The project will also provide collaborative space for engineers, graphic artists, and instructional design experts to develop and research new learning tools and techniques.

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is designing new facilities to respond to the experiential, project team-based learning paradigms set forth in today’s cross-disciplinary agenda for science, technology, engineering, and math. With one new construction and a renovation project underway, TCNJ hopes to reap the same benefits realized at other institutions, which experienced increased applicants, enrollment, and STEM majors, as well as more effective pedagogies and greater research output.

Ferris State University will begin construction in fall of 2016 on a $30 million redevelopment of the Swan Technical Arts Building in Big Rapids, Mich. Housing the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and the Center for Welding Excellence, the project includes renovation of the existing 47,086-sf building and construction of a 34,462-sf addition. The facility will provide laboratories and classrooms for the College of Engineering Technology. Completion is expected in 2018.

Oregon Health & Science University broke ground in June of 2016 on the $160 Knight Cancer Institute in Portland. Designed by SRG Partnership to foster multidisciplinary collaboration, the seven-story, 320,000-sf facility is located on the South Waterfront Campus and will provide biomedical laboratories, administrative offices, interaction hubs, core labs, a 200-seat auditorium, and space for clinical trials.

The University of Western Ontario is constructing the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) in London, Ontario. Housing the Research Cluster for Cognitive Neuroscience and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the 120,000-sf facility will also provide mixed-use classrooms and 24,000 sf of shell space. The seven-story facility will include a partial basement and a mechanical penthouse. The project architect is Cannon Design. Completion is expected in late 2017.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University began construction in late June of 2016 on the $22 million STEM Education Center in Prescott, Ariz. Designed by LEO A DALY, the 52,500-sf addition will feature 20 laboratories, including specialized facilities for the study of robotics, aerial engineering, space technologies, and high-speed computation and simulation. The teaching and research building will also provide classrooms, undergraduate science labs, meeting rooms, an auditorium, a multimedia center, and a planetarium.