Higher Education

The University of Miami opened the $50 million Marine Technology and Life Sciences Seawater Complex in October of 2014 in Virginia Key, Fla. Located on the campus of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the facility will support advanced research on marine life, climate change, coral reefs, and hurricanes. The 86,000-sf project is supplied with 1,000 gallons of seawater per minute and features a 3D hurricane testing lab with a 38,000-gallon tank.

The new building housing George Washington University's Milken Institute School of Public Health provides the first real home for the school, which was established in 1997. It brings together seven departments occupying space in various university buildings and several leased locations in and around GW’s Foggy Bottom campus. Just blocks from the White House, the school draws heavily upon its location to bring the real-world perspective of legislators, practitioners, and researchers to public health education.

Binghamton University dedicated the $30 million Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging (S3IP) in October of 2014. Providing laboratories, offices, and a symposium hall, the 114,000-sf facility will support collaborative research with industry partners on energy technologies, flexible electronics, and packaging. The sustainably designed center is part of Binghamton's Innovative Technologies Complex and features a heat recovery system, a highly efficient building envelope, and abundant natural lighting.

Ground was broken on the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience in October of 2014. The 190,000-sf facility will provide the University of Southern California with collaborative labs and offices for up to 30 scientists and engineers engaged in translational research. Representing a partnership between the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences and the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, the project will house the Center for Electron Microscopy and Analysis, a nanofabrication facility, and a microscopy imaging technology suite.

The State University of New York at Fredonia dedicated its $60 million Science Center in October of 2014. The three-story, 92,000-sf facility provides flexible teaching spaces, laboratories, and faculty offices to support STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education. Designed to promote interaction and collaboration, the interdisciplinary project consolidates the university's science programs in a single location. Ground was broken on the center in September of 2011.

The University of Arizona broke ground in October of 2014 on the $136 million Biosciences Partnership Building. Located on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, the 10-story, 245,000-sf facility was designed by CO Architects and Ayers Saint Gross to support collaborative biomedical research. Providing wet and dry labs as well as computational space, the transdisciplinary project is being built by DPR and Sundt Construction. Completion is expected in early 2017.

The University of Manchester is constructing the $98 million National Graphene Institute in the United Kingdom. Designed by Jestico + Whiles, the facility is being built by BAM Construction with completion expected in spring of 2015. Comprising two isolated concrete structures for vibration mitigation, the five-story, 84,000-sf building will provide 16,000 sf of dedicated cleanroom space as well as optical, laser, chemical, and metrology labs.

The University of Illinois dedicated the $95 million Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building in Urbana in October of 2014. Designed by SmithGroup of Chicago, the six-story, 235,000-sf facility provides advanced classrooms, labs, and equipment suites for interdisciplinary research in biotechnology, communications, computing, energy, and nanotechnology.

The University of Ottawa opened the Advanced Research Complex in October of 2014. The $57 million interdisciplinary facility houses the Centre for Advanced Photonics and features a 44-ton accelerator mass spectrometer. Designed by COLE+Associates Architects, the five-story, 150,000-sf project was built with four vibration-resistant floating floors to accommodate advanced research in geoscience and nanophotonics. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which was built by Pomerleau.

The University of Virginia School of Medicine dedicated the Ivy Foundation Translational Research Building in October of 2014. Located in the Fontaine Research Park in Charlottesville, the collaborative, interdisciplinary facility will house twelve scientific programs and a clinical research unit for the creation of advanced biomedical therapies. Construction of the project is funded in part by a $45 million donation from the Ivy Foundation.

Colorado State University opened the renovated Animal Sciences Building in September of 2014. The $19.5 million project created technology-rich classrooms and teaching labs in the 42,000-sf facility. The Animal Sciences Building includes BSL-2 research areas, labs for anatomy and physiology, and instructional space for microbiology and food safety. New mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications systems were installed. Construction began on the LEED-certified project in June of 2012 with completion in August of 2014.

Kaleida Health broke ground in October of 2014 on the $270 million John R. Oishei Children’s Hospital in Buffalo, N.Y. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott, the 12-story, 183-bed facility will be a teaching hospital for the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. The duration of construction will be approximately 34 months with occupancy expected in 2017. The 410,000-sf project is located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus and will replace the existing Women & Children’s Hospital.

The University of Notre Dame broke ground on McCourtney Hall in October of 2014. The 220,000-sf research facility will house the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Comprising two wings connected by a collaborative core of faculty offices and conference rooms, the three-story building will provide 100,000 sf of open lab space. Construction of the facility is funded in part by a $35 million philanthropic contribution. Completion is expected in June of 2016.

The University of Bath opened the HIVE research facility in September of 2014 in Swindon, U.K. Located in the Building Research Park, the $1.6 million project will support energy efficiency testing for construction materials. The performance of building systems and structural elements can be evaluated in eight individual cells with partial exposure to the external environment. Facilities include a hygrothermal cell for heat and moisture studies, a double-height flexible construction design cell, and a flood cell for water resistance research.

Westfield State University broke ground on a $33 million science center in September of 2014 in Westfield, Mass. The 54,000-sf academic facility will house laboratories, medical simulation suites, and a technology-rich interdisciplinary classroom. The existing Wilson Hall will also be renovated. The project team includes architect Cambridge Seven Associates and general contractor Walsh Brothers Construction. Completion is expected in August of 2016.