Higher Education

The University of Lincoln has awarded BAM Construction a $25 million contract to construct the Isaac Newton Building in the United Kingdom. Located on the Brayford Pool campus, the four-story, 81,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research space for programs in engineering, computer science, mathematics, and physics. The building will also house a 500-seat lecture hall, an atrium, a semi-anechoic chamber, and a room with the properties of a Faraday cage. Construction will begin in fall of 2015 with completion expected in early 2017.

Cornell University is engaged in a $90 million expansion of the College of Veterinary Medicine in Ithaca, N.Y. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, the project includes 65,000 sf of new construction and 33,000 sf of renovated space. The completed facility will provide a public auditorium, a veterinary library, two tiered lecture halls, technology-rich classrooms, an e-learning center, and a dining hall. Existing surgical suites, anatomy labs, and tutorial rooms will be renovated. Ground was broken on the project in September of 2014.

High Point University is building a new 65,000-sf facility to house the School of Health Sciences and the School of Pharmacy. Supporting a variety of pedagogical styles, the $88 million facility will provide biomedical research labs, simulation suites, a cadaver lab, and standardized client space for interprofessional education. The laboratory programming and design consultant for the project is Research Facilities Design (RFD) and the general contractor is Frank L. Blum Construction.

The University of Connecticut broke ground in September of 2015 on the $95 million Engineering and Science Building in Storrs. Supporting research in the emerging fields of bioengineering, nanomaterials, and virtual reality, the five-story, 118,000-sf facility will provide interdisciplinary laboratories, instructional spaces, and faculty offices. Open-plan labs will be located on three stories of the building, with the Institute for Systems Genomics and the Center for Genome Innovation occupying the remaining two floors. Completion is slated for summer of 2017.

The University of North Dakota is building the $15.5 million Collaborative Energy Center in Grand Forks. Ground was broken in July of 2015 on the 37,000-sf facility, which will serve as a headquarters for all energy-related programs within the College of Engineering & Mines, including the Institute for Energy Studies. Providing advanced laboratories and multipurpose teaching venues, the project will support interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation among students, faculty, and industry partners.

Lambton College will begin construction in spring of 2016 on the $30 million Nova Chemical Health and Research Centre in Sarnia, Ontario. Designed to foster the collaborative delivery of team-based healthcare, the 60,000-sf interprofessional education building will feature flexible learning studios instead of traditional classrooms. The technology-rich facility will provide simulation suites including model apartments as well as a 125-seat amphitheater. Completion is expected in late 2017.

The University of Central Florida is planning to build the $30 million Interdisciplinary Research and Incubator facility in Orlando. The first phase of construction will create a three-story, 67,000-sf building providing 31 research and incubator suites, many of which will include wet lab space. The multidisciplinary facility will house offices, lecture halls, and conference rooms, and will be used by researchers from the University as well as offering leased space for industry partners. Construction will begin in January of 2016 with completion expected by summer of 2017.

Carthage College opened the renovated and expanded Center for the Natural and Social Sciences in September of 2015 in Kenosha, Wis. Designed by Stantec, the $43 million project included construction of a 35,000-sf wing and renovation of the existing 70,000-sf facility. The interdisciplinary center features TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) classrooms and 12 teaching labs for programs in materials science, nanotechnology, engineering design, molecular biology, and atomic microscopy.

Seminole State College is planning to construct a $48 million health science building in Altamonte Springs, Fla. Designed by HuntonBrady Architects and HKS Architects, the seven-story, 200,000-sf facility will include commercial and retail space on the ground floor. The project team includes developer U.S. HealthRealty and construction manager Skanska USA. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2017.

The University of Idaho is building the $49 million Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) on its Moscow campus. Designed by NBBJ, the 69,000-sf interdisciplinary research facility will provide flexible laboratory, office, and meeting space that can be adapted for use by faculty, staff, and student researchers from across the university. The building will feature a state-of-the-art visualization laboratory, core research space, and video conferencing suites.

Sacred Heart University broke ground in September of 2015 on the $45 million Center of Healthcare Education in Bridgeport, Conn.

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is partnering with the University of Connecticut to create the $7.7 million Single Cell Genomics Center in Farmington. The facility will be located in JAX’s Genomic Medicine facility on the UConn Health campus. JAX is also planning to develop the Center for Precision Genetics at the site, supported by a $10 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.

Western Kentucky University will begin construction in December of 2015 on a new science building on its Bowling Green campus. Housing the College of Science and Engineering, the four-story, 77,000-sf Ogden Hall will provide classrooms, teaching labs, faculty offices, and student lounges. The project is being designed by Ross Tarrant Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant. A contractor will be selected in fall of 2015 with occupancy expected in fall of 2017.

Sam Houston State University has completed the first of a two-phase fit-out of the Woodlands Center to create an Allied Health Nursing Lab for the College of Health Sciences. The 5,680-sf Phase 1 project includes a nursing skills lab/classroom, a shared support and storage room, high fidelity simulation lab, and office suite. Each lab has active headwalls that aid in creation of the mock environment. The simulation lab contains four patient rooms, a home health area, and a control room.

The College of St. Scholastica broke ground on the 45,000-sf Health Science Pavilion in August of 2015 in Duluth, Minn. Located on a three-acre site in the BlueStone business park, the $17.1 million project will provide labs and classrooms for occupational therapy, physical therapy, and physician assistant programs. The pavilion was designed by HGA of Minneapolis and will feature an interdisciplinary health clinic to support experiential learning. The general contractor is McGough Construction of St. Paul.