Higher Education

California State University San Marcos’s $40 million Social and Behavioral Science Building is slated for completion in fall of 2011. The 106,000-sf facility will house seven conference rooms, eight classrooms, 13 labs, 14 academic department suites, 125 faculty offices, and graduate research space. Designed by AC Martin Partners, the four-story project will house anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, sociology, women’s studies, liberal studies, human development, communications, and American Indian studies.

Grand Valley State University will begin construction in spring of 2011 on the $70 million Mary Idema Pew Library and Information Commons in Allendale, Mich. The five-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide seating for 1,500 students, shelf space for 150,000 books, and an automated storage and retrieval system for an additional 600,000 volumes. The building will also house 30 meeting and study rooms. Completion is expected in April of 2013.

South Dakota State University is building the $51 million Avera Health and Science Center in Brookings, S.D. Created in partnership with Avera Health, the 144,000-sf project is comprised of 96,000 sf of new construction and 48,000 sf of renovated space. Housing the College of Pharmacy and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, the center will provide classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, and faculty offices. Construction began on the project in June of 2008. The facility will open in fall of 2010.

Foothill-De Anza Community College will expand its California facilities with the construction of two new buildings. In Los Altos, the Foothill Physical Sciences Village will provide three separate buildings to house the Engineering, Chemistry, Physics, Nanotechnology, and Astronomy departments. The Classroom building includes six 40-seat classrooms and two 72-seat lecture rooms, while the Laboratory building holds four chemistry laboratories, two physics laboratories, and three multipurpose laboratories to be shared by the Astronomy and Engineering departments.

The University of Arizona College of Medicine was awarded $15 million in stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health in February of 2010 to construct a 22,000-sf animal research laboratory in Phoenix. Housing 33 researchers and staff members, the underground facility will be located on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus. The project will be built in partnership with Arizona State University and will include a vivarium for rats and mice. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

The University of Miami was awarded $14.8 million in stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health in February of 2010 to construct a neuroscience and health annex on its campus in Coral Gables, Fla. The 37,700-sf facility will provide advanced interdisciplinary research laboratories, including an fMRI suite. Built as an addition to the James M. Cox Jr. Science Center within the College of Arts and Sciences, the facility will support collaborative research with the Miller School of Medicine. Completion is expected in 2012.

Mount Union College is engaged in a $4 million renovation of Wilson Hall in Alliance, Ohio. Designed by Westlake, Reed & Leskosky with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as the laboratory design consultant, the project will create six engineering labs, two classrooms, and 21 offices in the 22,000-sf facility. Completion is expected by fall of 2010.

Auburn University officially broke ground on its $21 million Magnetic Resonance Imaging Research Center on February 4, 2010. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 45,000-sf facility is slated for completion in September of 2010. The construction manager for the project is Brasfield & Gorrie LLC. The MRI Research Center will feature a Siemens Verio open-bore 3T MRI and an actively shielded whole-body 7T MRI. The Verio 3T MRI will be used for clinical and research applications and the 7T MRI will be dedicated solely to research.

The University of Washington will begin construction in July of 2010 on the $96 million Veterinary Medical Research Building in Pullman.  The 128,875-sf building will provide research facilities for at least 32 faculty members. Completion is expected in 2012.

Hampton University was awarded $8 million in stimulus funding from the National Institutes of Health in February of 2010 to construct a biomedical research center in Hampton, Va. The facility will house research space for the school’s programs in science, pharmacy, and nursing, as well as the existing Center for Advanced Medical Instrumentation. Construction will begin on the 20,000-sf center in spring of 2010.

Gulf Coast Community College is planning to break ground in summer of 2010 on the $30 million Advanced Technology Center in Panama City, Fla. The four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide flexible, collaborative research space for students and community businesses. Completion is slated for fall of 2012. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will feature a green roof, photovoltaic panels, and wind turbines.

The University of Louisiana opened its new animal research facility in Monroe in February of 2010. Providing research space for the College of Pharmacy, the $3 million facility houses mice and rats used in pharmacological and toxicological testing. The laboratory features 10 to 15 air changes per hour in the animal suites, automatic light timers, and a steam sterilization unit for equipment.

John Brown University is planning to construct a 40,000-sf facility in Siloam Springs, Ark., to consolidate its engineering and construction management programs. Supported by an $8 million philanthropic gift, the building will provide approximately 15,000-sf of laboratory space and 25,000-sf of classrooms and offices. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2011. 

Kansas State University will initiate construction in late 2010 on the O. H. Kruse Feed Mill & BioRefinery in Manhattan. Housing the Feed Science and Management (FSM) program and the Departments of Grain Science and Animal Sciences, the building will support the College of Agriculture with a dedicated BSL-2 teaching and research feed mill. The preliminary design consultant for the project is Younglove Construction of Sioux City, Iowa. The facility will include a biorefinery.

Indiana University Bloomington opened three new teaching laboratories in Jordan Hall in January of 2010. Comprised of 5,300 sf on two floors, the life science labs include biosafety cabinets, incubation and cell growth facilities, ultralow freezers, water baths, and centrifuges. The $2 million project was designed by the University Architects Office and Indianapolis-based arcDESIGN.