Higher Education

The University of Rochester is engaged in a $42 million expansion of the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (LLE) in Brighton, N.Y. Featuring Class 1000 cleanrooms for target fabrication and thin film coating activities, the 66,000-sf addition will include a laser computing facility, general and wet-bench research venues, and open office environments. The largest lab will house the AMICA laser system, a high-energy, long-pulse laser that is being assembled for Stanford University’s SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory.

The University of Wisconsin-Platteville opened the $55 million Sesquicentennial Hall in September of 2022. Designed by BWBR Architects, the 99,200-sf building provides collaborative learning and research facilities for programs in engineering, computer science, and sustainable and renewable energy systems (SRES).

Auburn University opened the $83 million Advanced Classroom and Laboratory Complex (ACLC) in fall of 2022. Designed by Perkins&Will, the 151,000-sf facility provides flexible learning venues, teaching and research labs, and over 12,000 sf of informal interaction space. On the ground floor, a trio of lecture halls with integrated audiovisual recording technologies can seat 96, 200, and 300 students respectively.

The University of Maine opened the $78 million Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center in August of 2022 in Orono. Designed by Ellenzweig and WBRC to promote experiential learning, the 115,000-sf facility features hands-on teaching labs for programs in mechanical and biomedical engineering. Housing the campus welcome center and a STEM outreach hub, the three-story structure provides capstone project rooms, a collaboration commons, informal meeting areas, conference rooms, and offices for faculty and staff.

You had a few of those big lecture classes in college—rows of students sitting in tiers, facing an instructor with an overhead projector or maybe a PowerPoint presentation. But recent studies show that students learn better and achieve more when they actively engage in their learning rather than passively listen to a lecture. Higher ed students will likely continue to spend about half their time in lecture halls or large-format classrooms designed for 75, 150, or even 250 people, so universities need to adapt these spaces with improved audiovisual systems and more room per student.

Florida Polytechnic University opened the $47 million Applied Research Center in August of 2022 in Lakeland. Designed by HOK, the 90,000-sf facility provides teaching and research labs, student design spaces, conference rooms, faculty offices, and administrative space. Catalyzing entrepreneurship and economic development, the two-story structure will play a pivotal role in expanding academic program offerings and resources to support the university’s growing student population.

The University of Huddersfield is planning to construct the National Health Innovation Campus in Huddersfield in the United Kingdom. The transformative development will integrate teaching, research, and outpatient care facilities to optimize health outcomes in the Yorkshire and Humber region and nationwide. Designed by AHR Architects, the first phase of construction will create a new home for the Health and Wellbeing Academy.

The University of New Mexico broke ground in August of 2022 on the $43.3 million College of Nursing and Public Heath Excellence Building in Albuquerque. Designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, the 93,740-gsf facility will provide sophisticated classrooms and teaching labs where the next generation of caregivers and public health professionals can engage in collaborative learning, training, and discovery.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)’s new Unity Hall is an academic research building focused on computational-based technologies for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), including robotics, data science, bioinformatics, and computational biology. The five-story, 100,000-sf facility brings together previously dispersed programs to create a centralized location for the university’s Smart World research cluster. In addition to dedicated labs, offices, and meeting spaces, Unity Hall houses shared dry lab and support spaces designed to foster the advanced multidisciplinary collaboration that is the hallmark of 4IR technologies. 

Wichita State University opened the $60 million Wayne and Kay Woolsey Hall in August of 2022. Designed by the architectural team of Gensler and GastingerWalker, the new home of the W. Frank Barton School of Business features flexible, technology-enabled learning environments capable of accommodating a wide range of class sizes and configurations. Illuminated by natural light, the three-story, 125,000-sf facility includes a 300-seat auditorium, collaboration spaces, business labs, faculty and staff offices, a ballroom, and a café.

The University of Washington will break ground in fall of 2022 on the $102 million Interdisciplinary Engineering Building in Seattle. Designed by KieranTimberlake and McGranahan Architects, the 70,000-sf facility will act as the academic home for all undergraduate engineering students on campus.

Auburn University opened the $110 million Tony & Libba Rane Culinary Science Center in August of 2022 in Auburn, Ala. Designed by Cooper Carry, the 142,000-sf facility features immersive learning environments for programs in hospitality management and culinary sciences. Offering sophisticated food production and demonstration labs, the complex includes a teaching restaurant, a food hall, a microbrewery and tasting room, and a boutique hotel and spa.

Cornell University will begin construction in January of 2023 on a 30,000-nsf expansion of Thurston Hall in Ithaca, N.Y. Designed by NBBJ to promote experiential learning, the $40 million project will accommodate the rapidly growing Meinig School of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. The façade of the brick and stone structure, which was originally built in 1951, will be transformed into a contemporary glass and metal exterior that transmits natural light to interior areas.

The University of Washington and Gonzaga University opened the $60 million Health Partnership Building in Spokane in August of 2022. Located at the gateway to the Gonzaga campus, the interdisciplinary center collocates students and faculty from both institutions to create new opportunities for learning and discovery. The 90,000-sf facility offers interactive classrooms, teaching and research labs, faculty offices, a fitness hub, and a state-of-the-art anatomy suite.

Cardiff University opened the £80 million Translational Research Hub in July of 2022 in the United Kingdom. Housing the Institute for Compound Semiconductors and the Cardiff Catalysis Institute, the 129,000-sf facility provides specialized labs, collaboration spaces, and offices where scientists can work side-by-side with industrial partners to create new technological solutions for pressing challenges in manufacturing, energy, transportation, and healthcare.