Higher Education

San Jacinto College broke ground on a 108,000-sf science building in August of 2011. Located on the Central Campus in Pasadena, Texas, the three-story facility will provide seven lecture halls, nine classrooms, 12 biology labs, four chemistry labs, three geology labs, two physics labs, and lab support. The building will also provide 30 faculty offices, a computer lab, and administrative space. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

The $26.4 million Western Australia College of Agriculture - Harvey will open in 2013. Located in Wokalup, the project will include three teaching blocks, student housing, administrative offices, a library, a dining hall, a gymnasium, and a fully functional farm. The general contractor for the project is Perkins Builders. 

Lone Star College-Tomball will open the Veterinary Technology Building in August of 2011. Constructed as an addition to the existing Large Animal Facility, the two-story, 20,000-sf project provides a 124-seat lecture hall, vivarium facilities, canine runs, surgical suites, and a computer lab. LSC-Tomball will also open the three-story, 60,000-sf Health Science Building and the two-story, 30,000-sf Performing Arts Center for the fall semester of 2011.

Midwestern University broke ground in August of 2011 on a $120 million medical and dental teaching complex in Downers Grove, Ill. The five-story, 193,000-sf facility will accommodate up to 250 students and 400 daily patient visits. A six-story, 341,000-sf parking structure will also be constructed. Completion is expected in 2013.

Manchester College broke ground on the $20 million School of Pharmacy in August of 2011. Located in Fort Wayne, Ind., the 80,000-sf facility will feature technology-rich lecture halls, interaction and collaboration space, and advanced teaching and research labs. Completion is expected in summer of 2012. The project architect is Design Collaborative and the general contractor is Michael Kinder & Sons.

The University of Wisconsin-Superior dedicated the $32 million Swenson Hall in August of 2011. The 144,000-sf academic facility will house six departments and features a central three-story light well, flexible classrooms, faculty offices, and technology-rich labs.

Colorado State University is planning a $16 million expansion of the Engines and Energy Conversion Lab in Fort Collins. The three-story, sustainably designed building will provide between 50,000 and 60,000 sf of classrooms, labs, and offices. The existing 15,088-sf lab will also be renovated. The completed facility, to be renamed the Energy Innovation Center, will feature advanced building systems and technologies. Occupancy is expected in 2013.

The University of British Columbia will open the $56 million Allard Hall in August of 2011 in Vancouver. Housing the Faculty of Law, the 142,000-sf facility was designed by Toronto-based Diamond + Schmitt Architects in joint venture with CEI Architecture and Planning. Accommodating over 50 faculty members, 600 undergraduates, and 100 graduate students, the five-story building includes classrooms, a law library, a three-story forum, and a research lab. Construction began on the project in 2009.

San Diego Mesa College began building the $92 million Math and Science Building in August of 2011. The 180,000-sf facility was designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker and is being built by McCarthy Building Companies. The Math and Science Building will house four floors of classrooms, laboratories, and offices for the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, and physical sciences. Additionally, several faculty/student interaction areas have been incorporated into the building's design.

The University of Houston is leveraging Aircuity’s OptiNet demand-control ventilation (DCV) system to develop a ventilation optimization program that will not only enhance indoor air quality, but significantly improve overall energy efficiency in its new 167,000-sf Health and Biomedical Science Center. When at full capacity, the annual energy savings for this facility are projected to be $239,270, which would give the project a simple return on investment of two years.

Oklahoma State University's Institute for Agricultural Biosciences will open in Ardmore in September of 2011. Supporting research on agricultural energy sources, the $15 million facility will provide administrative space, traditional and controlled environmental laboratories, greenhouses, and conference rooms for the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project. Ground was broken on the three-story building in May of 2009. 

College of the Desert has selected HGA Architects and Engineers to create the master plan for its Palm Springs West Valley Campus in Palm Springs, Calif. Designed to produce more energy than it consumes, the 119-acre campus will include 420,000 sf of academic space and 230,000 sf of leasable public-private venture space. The first phase will provide 50,000 sf in several buildings, including the Desert Energy Enterprise Center for engineering training in solar and wind energy manufacturing.

Ground was broken in August of 2011 on the $520 million Grand Prairie Regional Health Center in Alberta, Canada. Designed by Dialog and built by Graham Construction, the facility will include 200 inpatient beds and a cancer center. The project will also house a healthcare training facility developed in partnership with Grand Prairie Regional College. Completion is expected in 2014. 

Fordham University has implemented e-Builder construction project management software. The e-Builder platform will act as a framework to streamline and automate project management processes, improve transparency and accountability to maximize available project delivery time, and streamline and automate processes.

Commonwealth Medical College completed the $115 million Medical Science Building in July of 2011. Located in Scranton, Pa., the four-story, 185,000-sf facility comprises two wings, one housing research space and the other for academic instruction. The building features 35 research labs, 24 small-group teaching rooms, an auditorium, lecture halls, simulation suites for medical training, and a gross anatomy lab with 21 air changes per hour. Construction began on the project in February of 2009. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.