Higher Education

The University of Central Arkansas is building the Conway Corporation Center for Sciences in Conway, Ark. Designed by Stuck Associates and WER Architects/Planners, the project includes renovation of the Lewis Science Center and construction of a three-story, 50,000-sf addition at a cost of $17.5 million. Research Facilities Design (RFD) is providing laboratory programming and design services for the facility, which will feature flexible labs and classrooms to support emerging pedagogies.

South Louisiana Community College will break ground in early 2016 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 education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). 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.

Clackamas Community College will begin construction in summer of 2016 on the second phase of the Harmony Campus in Portland, Ore. The three-story, 42,464-sf facility will provide chemistry and biology labs, flexible classrooms, and two computer labs. The project will also include space for community events, informal learning areas, a bookstore, and support. The $16 million project is slated for occupancy in fall of 2017.

Colorado State University is constructing an $82 million biology building in Fort Collins. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht and built by Haselden Construction, the 151,560-sf facility will provide technology-enhanced classrooms, teaching and research labs, a lecture hall, and two-story collaboration spaces to promote student-faculty interactions. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Kansas State University completed construction in fall of 2015 on a $45 million facility for the College of Engineering in Manhattan. Designed by Perkins+Will, the three-story, 108,000-sf atrium expansion connects three existing buildings and features a 4,000-sf collaborative learning center, teaching and research labs, a 250-seat lecture hall, technology-rich classrooms, and a data center.

The Pennsylvania State University's Health and Human Development Building was awarded the 2015 Gold Project Leadership Award in November of 2015 by the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA). Completed in summer of 2015, the structure was the second building of a two-phase expansion of the College of Health and Human Development, collocating several research centers near the main academic departments.

In the largest higher education restructuring in the nation’s history, the facilities group at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, was elevated to a leadership role, taking its place alongside the offices of finance and research as part of an administrative troika whose heads now report directly to the president. The strategic alignment among these three functions was instrumental in allowing Rutgers to meet a legislative mandate that saw the university grow to 27 million sf in 1,009 buildings with a $3.7 billion operating budget and five different campuses in less than a year.

The Bush Science Center at Rollins College is a state-of-the-art facility built to expand the high quality of the sciences on campus, while at the same time support the College’s mission of a liberal arts education. The LEED Gold-certified building includes teaching and research laboratories, laboratory support areas, classrooms, computer classrooms, faculty offices, conference rooms, and building support spaces.

Lake-Sumter State College broke ground in December of 2015 on a 51,000-sf instructional facility for programs in science and healthcare. Designed by Leo A. Daly, the $11.6 million project will feature laboratories for biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, organic chemistry, health science, and anatomy and physiology. 

Western Michigan University’s Homer Stryker M.D. School of Medicine has received Engineering News-Record's best project award in the higher education/research category for the Midwest region. The facility has also achieved the Silver Project Leadership Award for the Construction Owners Association of America.

The University of Georgia broke ground in December of 2015 on $25 million Center for Molecular Medicine in Athens. Designed by Flad Architects, the 45,000-sf project will provide biomedical research laboratories, a 7,500-sf vivarium, a microscopy suite, a cell culture lab, environmental rooms, faculty offices, and a conference room.

Saint Paul College broke ground in November of 2015 on the $19 million Health and Science Alliance Center in St. Paul, Minn. Designed by Oliver & Associates with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 45,000-sf facility will provide two flexible classrooms for STEM and health science programs, four science labs, two simulation labs, three general classrooms, and three classrooms supporting industry partnerships. The project includes both new construction and renovated space.

George Mason University’s Exploratory Hall Science Building is the culmination of a five-story, 100,600-gsf renovation of the former Science + Technology II building, and a 64,000-gsf, four-story addition that connects to Planetary Hall. The renovated structure houses computational and dry laboratories; computer classrooms for GIS, computational science, and mathematics; lecture halls; and gathering spaces.

The University of Maine dedicated the $13.8 million Harold Alfond W2 Ocean Engineering Laboratory in Orono in November of 2015. Supporting the prototyping and testing of coastal, offshore, and underwater structures such as turbines, platforms, and ships, the project features a wave pool with a rotating wind machine capable of replicating hurricane conditions. The facility is located in the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, where a research and development lab for the study of thermoplastic materials is also being constructed.

Minnesota State University is constructing a $26 million clinical sciences building in Mankato. Designed to promote the collaborative delivery of team-based care, the 59,000-sf facility will consolidate programs in nursing and dental hygiene as well as speech, hearing, and rehabilitation services. The three-story building will provide classrooms, labs, offices, study areas, clinical space, observation rooms, and a model apartment. The general contractor for the project is Shaw-Lundquist. Completion is expected in late October of 2016.