Higher Education

The University of Southern California broke ground in September of 2008 on the $82.6 million Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research in Los Angeles. Located on USC's Health Science Campus in Boyle Heights, the 81,537-gsf, five-story facility will provide 53,000-asf for basic and discovery stem cell research, preclinical research and preclinical development, and clinical research. Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects to foster collaboration, the building will include shared research space.

St. Cloud State University is building the $15 million Robert H. Wick Science Building in St. Cloud, Minn. The 36,000-sf addition will house chemistry and biology labs and is slated for completion in fall of 2008. Occupancy is expected in the first quarter of 2009. Additionally, the 100,000-sf Integrated Science and Engineering Laboratory (ISELF), a research, teaching, and science facility, is in the pre-design phase.

The University of Arkansas is building the $14.5 million Donald W. Reynolds Center for Health Sciences in Jonesboro. The three-story, 50,650-sf facility will house classrooms, nursing laboratories, research suites, and clinical space. Additionally, 16,750-sf of the Chickasaw Building for the College of Nursing and Health Professions will be renovated to house faculty offices and classrooms. The project team includes Jonesboro-based Brackett-Krennerich & Associates Architects and CDI Contractors of Little Rock.

The University of Texas at Brownsville is planning to construct the $34 million Biomedical Research Laboratories + Community Sciences Building. Comprised of a biomedical research building and a general classroom facility connected by a courtyard, the project is designed by SHW Group of Dallas with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant.

The Medical University of South Carolina will break ground by year-end 2008 on a $55 million bioengineering building in Charleston. The four-story, 100,000-sf facility is slated for completion by late 2010. The building will house 36 wet lab and office suites, dry computational labs, and a 600-person conference room. The facility, which will be connected to an 114,000-sf drug discovery center, will support stem cell and biomedical research.

The University of Queensland opened the $33 million Centre for Advanced Animal Science (CAAS) on its Gatton campus in September of 2008. The biocontainment facility will house laboratories for disease and vaccine research, group and individual animal pens, and cattle handling facilities. The project was designed by S2F and built by McNab Constructions. CAAS is a joint venture of the University of Queensland and the Queensland Government.

Montana State University dedicated the Jutila Research Laboratory and the Johnson Family Livestock Facility in August of 2008. The $2.5 million, 3,500-sf Jutila Research Lab accommodates BSL-3 infectious disease research. The $3.4 million, 7,500-sf Johnson Family Livestock Facility will support BSL-2 large animal veterinary research.

The College of William and Mary opened the 111,000-sf Integrated Science Center in Williamsburg, Va., in September of 2008. The facility was completed in two years and houses the department of chemistry as well as space for the departments of biology and psychology. The project, which includes teaching labs, a vivarium, and molecular biology labs, represents the first phase of a multidisciplinary science complex that will connect to the existing 45,000-sf Rogers Hall, which will also be renovated.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) opened its new sustainably-designed residence hall in Worcester, Mass., on August 25, 2008. Designed by Cannon Design of Boston and constructed by Gilbane Building Company, the apartment-style residence includes technology suites, fitness facilities, and wireless access. LEED Gold certification will be sought for the project, which features a green roof and ample natural lighting.

The Commonwealth Medical College broke ground on the 185,000-sf Medical Sciences Building in Scranton, Pa., in August of 2008. Designed by HOK in partnership with Highland Associates, the facility will support medical education for over 500 students and will accommodate 175 full-time faculty members. The Medical Sciences Building is comprised of a west research wing and an east instructional wing linked by a courtyard.

Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) opened the 45,000-sf College of Osteopathic Medicine in Yakima, Wash., in August of 2008. The $19.7 million facility will provide health science education for primary care physicians as well as offering degrees in nursing, public heath, and psychology. The private, not-for-profit college is planning to open the College of Allied Health Sciences and the College of Biomedical Sciences as early as fall of 2009.

The University of New Mexico will receive $750,000 from the U.S. Department of Commerce to support the fourth phase of development at its Manufacturing Training and Technology Center in Albuquerque. The existing 56,000-sf facility includes a 6,200-sf training cleanroom. The fourth phase will expand the center’s lab-based training programs supporting the industries of biotechnology, nanotechnology, and medical devices.

Indiana University has selected Flad Architects and Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects to design the $44 million North Studio Building for the Jacobs of Music in Bloomington. The facility will house faculty teaching studios, classrooms, practice rooms, offices, and rehearsal rooms. Browning Day Mullins Dierdorf Architects will act as architect-of-record for the project and will share design leadership with Flad Architects.

The University of South Dakota dedicated the Andrew E. Lee Memorial Medicine and Science Building in Vermillion in September of 2008. Part of the Sanford School of Medicine and the School of Health Sciences, the facility houses technology-rich faculty research laboratories, classrooms, and offices.

The University of Texas at Austin dedicated the $55 million Biomedical Engineering Building on August 28, 2008. The 141,000-sf, six-story building houses classrooms, research laboratories, and administrative offices for the Biomedical Engineering Department. The College of Natural Sciences and the College of Pharmacy also occupy individual floors. The interdisciplinary building features nine optics labs constructed two stories below grade for minimization of vibration.