Higher Education

Weber State University will begin construction in June of 2014 on the 175,000-sf Tracy Hall Science Center in Ogden, Utah. Supported by $57.4 million in state funding and a $5 million philanthropic contribution, the facility will house all eight departments of the College of Science in a single location. The project design principles spell out the word ‘science’: sustainability, connectedness, inviting, engaging, nature, comfortable, and exploration.

The Sir Samuel Griffith Centre at Griffith University in Brisbane, Australia, is the embodiment of a living laboratory. The project, funded through the Australian government’s Education Investment Fund, delivers the world’s first large-scale, zero-emission research and teaching facility that utilizes solar power and energy storage as hydrogen.

Institutions that educate medical professionals are building an increasing number of simulation centers in response to the need for more hands-on, interdisciplinary, real-life training scenarios. Although these facilities can generate revenue, the expense of the equipment and related costs make it difficult to be profitable. But, with the use of creative design strategies, institutions can improve utilization and generate income.

The University of Birmingham broke ground in March of 2014 on the $100 million High Temperature Research Centre in Coventry in the United Kingdom. Created in partnership with Rolls-Royce, the 62,431-sf advanced manufacturing research facility will provide laboratories for the casting, design, and simulation of aerospace engine components such as turbines. The center will also support collaborative education and research with other academic and industry partners.

Washington State University broke ground in March of 2014 on the $52.8 million PACCAR Clean Technology Laboratory Building in Pullman. Supporting research on advanced materials, renewable energy, atmospheric science, and hydrology, the 96,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide specialized core labs, common support areas, offices, faculty and student research space, and conference areas. The project team includes LMN Architects, general contractor Skanska, and laboratory design consultant Research Facilities Design.

The Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, brings together researchers from multiple disciplines to collaborate on solving the world’s energy needs. Occupied in January 2013, the five-story, 102,000-gsf building is designed to flex and adapt to evolving directions in clean-energy research.

The Phase II renovation of Michigan Memorial Phoenix Laboratory (MMPL)—located in a three-story, Cold-War-era facility—contains more than 3,000 sf of chemistry wet lab space, plus a 10,161-sf addition housing the University of Michigan Energy Institute (UMEI, formerly called the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute). The UMEI, previously housed in temporary administrative offices, develops, coordinates, and promotes multidisciplinary energy research and education at the University.

Newcastle University is planning to build the $83 million Science Central development in Newcastle in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hawkins\Brown in partnership with BuroHappold and BD Landscapes, the 107,640-sf facility will act as a living laboratory for urban sustainable design. Occupancy is expected in September of 2017.

Texas Tech dedicated the $22.8 million Terry Fuller Petroleum Engineering Research Building in Lubbock in February of 2014. Housing the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, the 43,000-sf facility features integrated teaching and research labs, smart classrooms, a fracturing techniques suite, a fluids lab, a rheology lab, a pressure volume temperature lab, and a reservoir simulation center and drilling lab. The project was designed by Kirksey Architecture and built by Vaughn Construction.

Swansea University broke ground in spring of 2014 on the $13 million Data Science Building. Located on the Singleton Park Campus, the collaborative, interdisciplinary project will be constructed adjacent to the Institute of Life Sciences facilities that are slated for occupancy in fall of 2015. The 31,000-sf Data Science @ ILS will house the Centre for the Improvement of Population Health through e-Records Research (CIPHER), the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, and the Administrative Data Research Centre Wales (ADRC Wales).

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and the University of California, Davis have initiated a new phase in their ongoing research collaboration by sharing resources and core services. UC Davis will benefit from on-site educational programs at the JAX mouse facility in Sacramento, Calif. JAX will provide mouse colony management services for UC Davis investigators, expediting research discoveries by preventing transportation delays.

Michigan State University broke ground in spring of 2014 on the $730 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Located in East Lansing, the project will be a national user facility for nuclear science research and is created in partnership with the Department of Energy. The first $165 million phase of construction includes a 227,000-sf building with extensive underground infrastructure to accommodate a superconducting linear accelerator. Completion is expected in 2018.

The mission of the award-winning Campus for Research Excellence and Technology (CREATE) in Singapore is to stimulate innovation, discovery, and entrepreneurship through the interaction and collaboration of a broad spectrum of scientists and engineers representing world-class research universities, institutions, and corporations.

Interdisciplinary research groups (IRGs) from around the world will be co-located for five years at a time, coalescing around five research themes:

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will begin building the $84 million College of Business Administration in December of 2014. Designed to accommodate 5,000 business students by 2017, the 240,000-sf facility will feature cluster classrooms for group learning and a technology-rich finance lab. The design team includes Robert A.M. Stern Architects of New York and Alley Poyner Macchietto of Omaha.

The University of Michigan is planning to build the $261 million Biological Science Building in Ann Arbor. Designed by SmithGroup JJR, the 300,000-sf facility will provide research labs, classrooms, offices, and a vivarium for the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Providing open, flexible laboratories for collaborative research, the building will be constructed adjacent to the existing Life Sciences Institute to which it will physically connect.