Higher Education

The University of Kentucky is constructing the 285,000-gsf Biological/Pharmaceutical Complex in Lexington. The building will house labs, lecture halls, classrooms, offices, and core labs for the College of Pharmacy. Featuring a five-story atrium, the facility is designed around laboratory neighborhoods to promote interaction and collaboration. The design team includes EOP Architects of Lexington as architect of record and Ellenzweig of Cambridge, Ma., as design architect and laboratory planner. Completion is expected by the end of 2009.

Suffolk New College celebrated the topping out of its £69 million Ipswich campus in the United Kingdom on June 9, 2008. The 22,000-sm instructional complex will contain lecture halls and classrooms in two blocks constructed around a central triangular atrium. Occupancy is expected in September of 2009. The project team includes architect Sheppard Robson and general contractor Morgan Ashurst.

Atlantic Veterinary College of the University of Prince Edward Island is partnering with the province of New Brunswick to construct a $23.6 million aquatic animal health science laboratory in St. George, NB, Canada. Meeting national standards for fish health testing, the facility will support aquaculture research for the regions’ fishery industries. Housing necropsy, bacteriology, virology, and sample processing facilities, the 5,700-sf laboratory will be built by Castle Rock Construction Services of Saint John.

The University of New Mexico is partnering with the city of Rio Rancho and developer Legacy Hospital Partners to construct a full service teaching hospital in Rio Rancho, N.M. The 75-bed facility will support medical education and nursing programs and is designed for ease of expansion to a total of 125 beds. Housing a 24-hour emergency room, cancer center, critical care unit, intensive care unit, and medical offices, the project will be built with sustainable design technologies. The project cost is estimated at between $100 million and $150 million.

Tufts University has selected BioRealty Inc. of Irvine, Calif., to develop the Grafton Science Park in Grafton, Ma. The planned 702,000-sf research park will house laboratory, office, and manufacturing space. The Grafton Science Park is the home of Tuft’s 40,000-sf Regional Biocontainment Laboratory which is slated for completion in January of 2009.

The University of Pennsylvania is planning to construct the $370 million Anne and Jerome Fisher Translational Research Center in Philadelphia. Housing labs and offices for 100 researchers and 900 staff, the 400,000-sf collaborative research facility is being designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects PC. The eight-story project is slated for completion in 2010.

Stark State College of Technology is constructing the $9 million Health Sciences Building in North Canton, Ohio. The 47,500-sf technology and equipment-rich facility will house teaching laboratories and classrooms for instruction in healthcare, biotechnology, dental hygiene, emergency fire services, emergency medical services, health information, and massage therapy. The facility will also accommodate biotechnology, chemistry, and anatomy and physiology programs in the new science labs.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed The 21st Century Green High-Performing Public School Facilities Act on June 4, 2008. Enabling public school buildings around the country to receive much-needed renovations and modernizations, legislation H.R. 3021 will provide funding to states and school districts to help ensure that learning environments are safe, efficient, and environmentally friendly. H.R. 3021 authorizes $6.4 billion for school renovation and modernization projects for fiscal year 2009.

The University of Missouri broke ground on the $52.5 million Orthopaedic Institute in Columbia, Mo., on June 5, 2008. Housing outpatient and inpatient care, the 113,512-sf project will house 41 clinic rooms, five operating rooms, two outpatient procedure rooms, radiology, rehabilitation, prosthetic/orthotic services, and a pharmacy. The center will consolidate the university’s orthopaedic treatment operations in a single location and is expected to open in early 2010.

Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine opened the Northwestern Nikon Imaging Center in Chicago on June 4, 2008. The collaborative core microscopy imaging facility was developed in partnership with Nikon Instruments to support biomedical research and the development of advanced imaging technologies. The Feinberg School's Cell Imaging Center will feature Nikon Live Scan Swept Field Confocal microscopes for the study of live cell events.

Colorado State University’s $30 million Rocky Mountain Regional Biocontainment Laboratory received select agent research approval from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in May of 2008. Sited on the Foothills Campus in Fort Collins, the 38,000-sf facility houses BSL-3 laboratories for infectious disease research. The laboratory features a $600,000 mass spectrometer, autoclaves, seven-layer epoxy floors, and rigorous HEPA air filtration.

The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) is planning to construct the $105-million, 180,000-sf Neuroscience Research Building. Housing laboratory and clinical space for 78 principal investigators, the facility will built at the University’s Mission Bay campus.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s $160 million Interdisciplinary Research Complex is slated for completion by fall of 2008. Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, the 473,000-sf facility will centralize and expand genetics, cellular, and virology research and will include pilot-scale fermentation capabilities. The project contractor is Oscar J. Boldt Construction of Madison.

North Dakota State University broke ground on two agricultural research facilities in Fargo, N.D., on May 30, 2008. The $12 million Greenhouse Facility will house research in plant breeding, pathology, and nutrition to create higher yield crop varieties. The Beef Cattle Research Center will support research in animal nutrition and physiology, feed efficiencies, genetics, and food safety. The first phase of construction for the Beef Cattle Research Center will cost $1.6 million. Completion is expected in October of 2008. 

Emory University broke ground on the Claudia Nance Rollins Building in Atlanta on May 30, 2008. The 160,000-sf facility is part of the Rollins School of Public Health and is supported by a $50 million philanthropic donation. Connected by a glass bridge to the existing 137,000-sf School of Public Health facility, the multistory building will open in 2010. Designed to foster collaboration with industry partners and the U.S.