Marshall University is planning a $100 million expansion of its campus in Huntington, W.V. The project includes a technology-rich classroom building, an applied engineering complex, a biotechnology incubator, a fine arts incubator, a parking structure, and an athletics complex including a sports medicine translational research facility. Construction will begin in January of 2012.
Princeton University opened the High Performance Computing Center on its Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro in November of 2011. The two-story, 46,765-sf building provides a computing area, a data center, mechanical and electrical support space, and offices. The facility also houses the Terrascale Infrastructure for Groundbreaking Research in Engineering and Science (TIGRESS) Center. The project team included architect Gensler of San Francisco, engineer AKF Group of Boston, and project manager CS Technology.
The University of Ontario Institute of Technology opened the Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre (ERC) in November of 2011 in Oshawa. The 100,000-sf building provides space for instruction, training, and research in nuclear engineering and sustainable energy development. The $45.4 million facility houses administrative and faculty offices, research and teaching labs, a 72-seat lecture hall, a four-story atrium, and study space. Construction began on the project in November of 2009 and reached completion in August of 2011.
Skanska and joint venture partner MAPP Construction have been awarded a $522 million contract to build phase one of the new University Medical Center in New Orleans for the State of Louisiana. Designed by NBBJ, the $1.2 billion project includes a 560,000-sf, 424-bed teaching hospital and a 746,982-sf diagnosis and treatment center. Ground was broken on the project in April of 2011 and occupancy is expected in February of 2015.
Ryerson University has selected EllisDon to build the $112 million Student Learning Centre in Toronto. Construction will begin on the eight-story, 155,463-sf building in early 2012. Designed by Snøhetta Architects and Zeidler Partnership Architects, the seven-story transparent glass structure will provide open environments for group learning. Connecting to Ryerson’s adjacent library, the building will include ground-level retail and 2,000 study spaces. Completion is expected in winter of 2014.
The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is building a new campus in Austin, Texas. Sited on 27.7 acres, the project includes two buildings providing 80,000 sf of classroom and laboratory space. The campus will also include a library, faculty and administrative offices, and student lounges. The auditorium-style classrooms are designed to promote collaboration and interaction with a variety of learning technologies. The general contractor is Hardin Construction Company. Completion is expected in June of 2012.
Virginia Tech opened the $105 million Infectious Disease Research Facility at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg in November of 2011. Construction began on the 16,000-sf BSL-2 facility in August of 2010. Also under construction is the $14.1 million, 33,000-sf Veterinary Medicine Instructional Addition. Work began on the building in July of 2011 and occupancy is expected in August of 2012. The facility will house faculty offices, teaching labs, and flexible instructional space.
Mid-South Community College's Renewable Energy Center will open in January of 2012 in Memphis, Ark. The 35,000-sf facility will support education and training for the sustainable energy industry. The $9 million building will house five classrooms, a 200-seat lecture hall, a chemistry lab, and a biofuel research and production facility.
Wilfrid Laurier University has broken ground on the $103 million Global Innovation Exchange in Waterloo, Ontario. Housing the School of Business and Economics and the Department of Math, the 215,000-sf facility will feature a 1,000-seat auditorium and seven lecture halls. Designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, faculty offices will be dispersed throughout the building instead of clustered by department. Classrooms will also be shared by all three programs. Occupancy is expected in 2014.
The University of North Carolina will break ground on the $37 million PORTAL building in Charlotte in December of 2011. Housing the Charlotte Research Institute, the 95,000-sf project will house flexible research and development space, the Ben Craig Center business incubator, and a 10,000-sf information security facility. The construction manager for the project is Edifice of Charlotte. Occupancy is expected by early 2014.
Algonquin College opened the $79 million Centre for Construction Excellence in Ottawa in November of 2011. Designed by Diamond + Schmitt Architects in collaboration with Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates, the 190,000-sf facility provides classrooms, studios, laboratories, and shops. The project is designed to function as a teaching laboratory for sustainable construction and comprises a five-story tower and a two-story wing.
Yeshiva University's Einstein College of Medicine opened the Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory in New York in November of 2011. The mission of the Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab is to understand how the brain function of individuals with disorders such as autism, attention deficit disorder, and childhood schizophrenia differs from that of their peers. The facility includes a new 5,000-sf lab with specialized rooms that allow researchers to control sound and other stimuli.
The Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering (JSNN) opened in Greensboro, N.C., in November of 2011. The $64 million project was created collaboratively by North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The facility was built by a joint venture of Samet Corp., Barton Mallow, and SRS Inc.
The US Green Building Council awarded LEED certification to Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital in November of 2011. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch and completed in 2010, Smilow’s sustainable features include optimum circulation of natural light in its lobbies, corridors and waiting areas; use of occupancy sensors in non-patient spaces; pumps with variable speed drives; and room pressure monitors to reduce power usage for enhanced air supply.
The University of Queensland began building the $30 million Global Change Institute in November of 2011. Located in St Lucia, the energy and environmental science research facility will be certified by the Living Building Challenge for sustainable design. The building will be carbon and water neutral and will feature a passive heating and cooling system, a pneumatic roof, and an atrium with a living wall and a waterfall.
