The University of Pennsylvania opened the $38 million Jordan Medical Education Center in Philadelphia in January of 2015. Designed to accommodate a multidisciplinary, team-based pedagogy, the three-story, 55,000-sf project will provide the Perelman School of Medicine with two flexible 3,000-sf learning studios, eight technology-rich classrooms, a learning commons, a law auditorium and pavilion, and a variety of small group spaces.
The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has crafted a decision-making framework based on objective standards to identify and pursue the highest priorities in a massive building boom that has roughly 95 projects valued from $10,000 to $450 million currently under construction. While a large part of that activity stems from the university’s long-range master plan, a significant portion was necessitated by the devastation of Hurricane Ike, which took 1.2 million sf of the medical school’s Galveston campus out of service in 2008.
The four-story, 80,000-sf Research and Graduate Education Complex on the campus of Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED) is a state-of-the-art biomedical research facility for researchers from the colleges of Pharmacy, Medicine, and Graduate Studies. Three floors of laboratories and support spaces house more than 30 scientists and their teams, with space for 156 bench researchers. The building also contains office space for faculty, write-up areas for research staff and students, and small-group teaching and seminar rooms.
Texas Tech University dedicated the 1,600-sf Biological Threat Research Laboratory in Lubbock in January of 2014. The BSL-3 facility supports basic and applied research on biological pathogens and toxins. Construction began on the $2.4 million project in September of 2012 and reached completion in summer of 2013.
Volunteer State Community College began constructing the $30.5 million Humanities Building in January of 2015. The 88,345-sf facility is located in Gallatin, Tenn., and will provide 23 classrooms, 18 laboratories, and 11 collaborative study spaces. Designed by Moody Nolan of Nashville, the building will also house a recording studio, an art gallery, art studios, computer labs, 56 offices, and 20 adjunct faculty rooms. Completion is expected in summer of 2016.
The National University of Ireland Galway began construction in January of 2015 on the 88,000-sf Human Biology Building. Designed by Scott Talon Walker Architects, the five-story teaching and research facility will provide labs, lecture halls, and offices for the departments of anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology. The Human Biology Building will also include a vivarium, a microscopy suite, and anatomy and mortuary space. The construction cost of the project is $34 million and the general contractor is BAM Group Ireland.
Texas A&M University has completed a $7 million renovation of Francis Hall in College Station. The historic three-story facility was built in 1918 and houses the Department of Construction Science. Designed by Brown Reynolds Watford Architects, the 32,500-sf renovation project created specialized laboratories including a BIM Cave for immersive visualization of building systems.
Located on the coast of South Florida with easy access to coral reefs, the Center of Excellence for Coral Reef Ecosystem Science at Nova Southeastern University is the only research facility in the U.S. dedicated to this line of research. The five-story building, which is designed to withstand hurricanes, accommodates the special requirements of multiple disciplines—geospatial analysis and mapping, biodiversity, plant and animal studies, genomics, and hydrodynamics—and unites them in a single collaborative environment.
The New Hampshire Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory is building a new 6,500-sf facility in Durham. Located on the campus of the University of New Hampshire, the $2.5 million project will support the detection and diagnosis of infectious diseases. The facility represents a partnership between the UNH College of Life Sciences and Agriculture and the New Hampshire Department of Agriculture, Markets & Food.
Bay Path University opened the $13.7 million Philip H. Ryan Health Science Center in January of 2015 in East Longmeadow, Mass. The two-story, 58,000-sf facility provides simulation training labs, technology-rich classrooms, faculty offices, conference rooms, collaborative learning areas, group study rooms, a library, and a model apartment for instruction in occupational therapy. General contractor Crocker Builders began construction on the facility in November of 2013.
Coventry University will begin construction in mid-2015 on a $50 million facility for the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences in the United Kingdom. The five-story multidisciplinary building will provide classrooms, simulation suites for medical training, science labs, and core research space. The 121,200-gsf (75,500-nsf) project will be built by BAM Construction. Completion is expected by fall of 2017.
The University of San Diego is building the $18 million Betty & Bob Beyster Institute for Nursing Research, Advanced Practice, and Simulation. Ground was broken on the three-story, 30,000-sf building in May of 2014 and completion is expected in fall of 2015. Designed by gkkworks in association with The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the facility will house classrooms, faculty offices, three research units, the Dickinson Simulation and Standardized Patient Nursing Center, and the Krause Doctoral Research Library and Study.
The University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC) renovated two floors of its Research and Education Building to accommodate a new College of Pharmacy program and the associated accreditation requirements. The spaces include both instructional and research labs.
Montana Tech will break ground in April of 2015 on the $10 million Natural Resources Research Center in Butte. Representing an expansion of the existing Engineering Laboratory Classroom Building, the three-story, 32,000-sf addition will provide instructional space, a student project studio area, and labs for nanotechnology, energy, and petroleum research. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2016.
The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research is planning to build the $240 million India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) in Bodi West Hills in the Theni district of Tamil Nadu. Developed in collaboration with the Indian Institutes of Technology and over 20 universities and research institutions, the project will support experimental physics research on atmospheric neutrinos produced by cosmic rays in the earth’s atmosphere. The facility will be constructed over 4,000 feet below the earth's surface and is expected to be fully operational in 2022.
