Higher Education

Carthage College is engaged in a $43 million expansion and renovation of the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Natural and Social Sciences in Kenosha, Wis. A 35,000-sf wing will be constructed and the existing 70,000-sf facility will undergo major renovations. The completed center will feature multidisciplinary teaching labs, TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) classrooms, a two-story glass atrium, a 28-seat planetarium, and 12 interdisciplinary labs for the study of materials science, nanotechnology, engineering design, molecular biology, and atomic microscopy.

Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center will begin construction in early 2015 on a $50 million instructional facility for the School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. Located in the Wake Forest Innovation Quarter, the 168,000-sf building is designed to support one of the most advanced medical school curriculums in the country and will include technology-rich clinical simulation suites, small group learning spaces, an anatomy lab, offices, and meeting rooms. Occupancy is expected in July of 2016. The project developer is Wexford Science + Technology, LLC.

Missouri State University is building the $14.1 million O’Reilly Clinical Health Science Center in Springfield. The 55,000-sf facility will provide medical training labs, mannequin simulation suites, classrooms, offices, group study areas, and a multidisciplinary health clinic. The general contractor for the project is DeWitt & Associates. Completion is expected in fall of 2015.

Collin College is building the 125,000-sf Cary A. Israel Health Sciences Center on the Central Park Campus in McKinney, Texas. Designed by PBK Architects, the three-story facility features an advanced clinical simulation center, an 150-seat lecture hall, classrooms, offices, and medical training labs for programs in nursing, emergency services, surgical technology, and respiratory care. Built by Pogue Construction at a cost of $44 million, the project includes a central plant and a 25,000-sf conference center.

The University of Edinburgh will break ground in February of 2015 on a $50 million expansion of its Easter Bush campus. Designed by Atkins Global, the project is part of the University's master plan to create the European Centre of Excellence in Animal Sciences and Food Security and comprises an innovation center, a campus hub, and a multistory atrium.

The new home for the School of Nursing on Yale University’s West Campus creates a state-of-the-art facility that supports an increase in the school’s class size beyond 350 students. The project accommodates all of the nursing school’s programs, including teaching, research, and administrative spaces, which had outgrown their prior home at the Medical Campus.

The University of Illinois officially broke ground on the $24 million Integrated Bioprocessing Laboratory in Urbana in October of 2014. Part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the facility will feature a biofuels pilot plant for UI's Center for BioEnergy Research. Supporting collaborative development with industry partners, the 43,000-sf lab will provide two classrooms, flexible processing suites with moveable walls, and 300-liter fermenters for biofuels testing.

Texas A&M University broke ground on the $53 million Texas Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Laboratory in November of 2014. The 90,000-sf facility will house advanced technologies for sample testing to support animal and human health as well as food safety. Designed by Perkins+Will, the project will feature integrated laboratories, a full-service necropsy suite, and BSL-2 and BSL-3 areas. Vaughn Construction will begin building the facility in spring of 2015 with completion in approximately 18 months.

Davidson College began site work for its $74 million science center in November of 2014. The interdisciplinary project includes 120,000 sf of new construction comprising a multistory atrium and a two-wing expansion of the existing Martin Laboratory, which will be completely renovated. The departments of biology, chemistry, environmental science, psychology, and neuroscience will occupy the building, which will include 20 teaching labs, 34 research labs, 47 faculty offices, five learning environments, an open forum space, and a shared commons for faculty and students.

Michigan State University is constructing the $61 million Bio Engineering Facility in East Lansing. Designed to support interdisciplinary biomedical research, the 130,000-sf building will provide open laboratories and offices for faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine, and Natural Science. The sustainably designed facility will be physically connected to the existing Clinical Center C-Wing and Life Sciences B-Wing with proximity to the Radiology Building. Ground was broken on the project in June of 2013 with occupancy expected in fall of 2015.

The University of Missouri-St. Louis will begin construction in early 2015 on the $17 million Patient Care Center. The 48,000-sf facility will provide individual and group learning areas for the colleges of Optometry and Nursing and 35,000 sf of clinical space for eye and primary care. Designed by HOK, the project features student-faculty consultation rooms located within each of the four clinical areas. Occupancy is expected in summer of 2016.

Dalhousie University opened the Zebrafish Core Facility in October of 2014 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Located in the Life Sciences Research Institute, the $1.8 million laboratory will support interdisciplinary biomedical research on cancer, neuroscience, and genetics. Housing up to 75,000 adult fish, the 4,000-sf facility features a molecular lab and specialized rooms for cell and tissue studies.

The Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) is a multidiscipline research and academic facility, housed inside a renovated 304,000-sf tire manufacturing plant, designed to break down or inhibit silos from forming, while being friendly to commercialization, industry, workforce development, and international collaboration.

The University of North Dakota broke ground in October of 2014 on a 66,000-sf aerospace research and teaching facility in Grand Forks, N.D. The $26 million Robin Hall will provide classrooms, laboratories, simulation bays, offices, and student space for the John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences, as well as secure areas for the Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Research, Training and Education Center. Completion is expected in May of 2016. The facility will be constructed, owned, and managed by the UND Aerospace Foundation.

The University of Liverpool will begin construction in November of 2014 on the Materials Innovation Factory in the United Kingdom. Developed in partnership with Unilever, the four-story, 125,000-sf building will provide materials science research labs with a total of 126 fume hoods. The project team includes architect Fairhursts Design Group, civil and structural engineer Curtins, building services engineer White Young Green, and cost consultant Turner & Townsend.