Higher Education

The University of Virginia Medical Center is building a 46,000-sf education, imaging, and conference facility on its Charlottesville campus. Designed by CO Architects of Los Angeles in association with Train & Partners Architects, the $25 million Education Resource Center will physically connect the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center with the existing parking garage. The four-story facility will house simulation laboratories for medical training, diagnostic imaging suites, multipurpose learning spaces, and offices.

Humber College opened its Learning Resource Commons in Toronto in May of 2015. The six-story, 264,000-sf facility provides a new main entrance and gateway to the North Campus and connects to several existing buildings. The $84.2 million center provides a library, a gallery, study areas, student services, and administrative offices for the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences. The project was designed by B+H Architects and built by PCL Constructors Canada. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

CHI Health is partnering with Creighton University to build a $35 million academic medical center in Omaha. Ground was broken on the 80,000-sf complex in May of 2015 and completion is expected in late 2016. The project will include a freestanding emergency department as well as outpatient diagnosis and treatment facilities including space for cardiology, women's services, and psychiatry. The center is sited adjacent to Creighton University and will house the Family Medicine Residency Program.

Northwestern University broke ground on the Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center in Chicago in May of 2015. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 14-story, 600,000-sf facility will support collaborative research on cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative disorders, and genetics for the Feinberg School of Medicine. The Biomedical Research Center will house nine laboratory floors of approximately 45,000 sf each with integrated offices for principal investigators.

The University of Texas at Tyler broke ground on the $26.5 million W.T. Brookshire Hall in late April of 2014. The three-story, 60,000-sf facility will house the Ben and Maytee Fisch College of Pharmacy. Designed to encourage student-faculty interaction and support innovative pedagogies, the project will provide flexible classrooms, research labs, skills training suites, offices, and study areas. Completion is expected in May of 2015.

The University of Delaware celebrated the opening of the newly renovated Lasher Laboratory in April of 2015. The BSL-2 facility is located in the Elbert N. and Ann V. Carvel Research and Education Center in Georgetown and supports research on the detection and diagnosis of avian diseases including avian influenza. Supported by $4 million in state funding, the project was completed in December of 2014 and included new MEP, fire, and life safety systems as well as significant improvements to the building envelope.

Responding to the call to reinvent university science instruction, Virginia Tech’s new classroom building is poised to create “a bona fide learning revolution.” Slated for completion in 2016, the 73,400-sf facility will offer flexible, innovative teaching spaces that are “radically different” from anything previously seen on the Blacksburg campus, according to Jill Sible, assistant provost for undergraduate education at the largest producer of STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) degrees in the state.

A gut renovation of the Kline Chemistry Laboratory has created a highly energy-efficient facility, with open work spaces and more than 60 high-performance fume hoods, the highest density of any building on campus. Renovation of the three-story building entailed replacement of all building systems and finishes, new core additions and exterior glazing, as well as life safety upgrades.

Mount Wachusett Community College dedicated the $41 million Asquino Science Center in November of 2016 in Gardner, Mass. The project included construction of a 44,000-gsf addition providing classrooms, teaching labs, prep rooms, faculty offices, and study spaces to support programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), and a 2,300-sf greenhouse.

South Louisiana Community College will begin construction in summer of 2015 on a $17.1 million health and science facility in Lafayette. The three-story, 63,000-sf building will accommodate programs in nursing and allied health as well as providing space for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) classes. The project will also house administrative offices, a 250-seat auditorium, a virtual hospital, computer labs, conference rooms, and wet and dry science teaching labs. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2016.

A gut renovation of the 1984 organic chemistry lab in the Physical Sciences Building at Bowling Green State University created state-of-the-art teaching environments with $250,000 worth of new instrumentation, casework, stainless steel ductwork, and computer-controlled supply systems. The installation of 12 lab hoods and one ADA-compliant hood, with high-efficiency exhaust and airflow systems, offer students more hands-on, project-based learning opportunities in a safer environment.

Purdue University is initiating three construction projects for the College of Engineering in West Lafayette, Ind. Work will begin in 2016 on an $8.2 million expansion of the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories to create a 9,600-sf research suite featuring five new test cells supporting laser-based measurement. Other projects include the $54 million, 75,000-sf Flex Lab, a multidisciplinary, team-based research facility, and the Innovation Design Center, a 24-hour student project building featuring CAD labs and collaboration areas.

Saint Anthony College of Nursing is moving to a new facility on the campus of Rock Valley College in Rockford, Ill. The four-story, 117,000-sf Health Science Center will provide 13 classrooms and 10 labs. Rock Valley College will occupy approximately 80,000 sf in the $32 million building and the top two floors will be leased by Saint Anthony. Construction began in June of 2015 and occupancy is expected in January of 2017.

The University of Nebraska broke ground in late April of 2015 on a $45.5 million veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Lincoln. Located on the Nebraska Innovation Campus, the 65,000-sf facility will provide labs for diagnostic testing, animal science, and medical research. The project architect is RDG Planning and Design of Omaha. Completion is expected in 2017.

Johns Hopkins University will lease 115,000 sf in a new laboratory building under construction in Baltimore. The $59 million, 170,000-sf facility is being built by Forest City Enterprises in partnership with East Baltimore Development Inc. and will feature advanced LED lighting systems installed by GB Energie LED and Revolution Lighting Technologies. Construction began on the project in November of 2014 and completion is expected in July of 2016.