Higher Education

The University of Vermont has received a LEED Gold designation for its $70 million student union, the Dudley H. Davis Center in Burlington. The 220,000-sf facility broke ground in spring of 2005 and reached completion in August of 2007. The project is divided into two main building components: a four-level student union and a two-level, 600-seat performing arts theater. The student union features an atrium and includes a natural chimney that evacuates smoke, in the event of fire, without needing energy-intensive mechanical systems.

Colorado State University initiated construction in early 2008 on a $42 million Diagnostic Medicine Center in Fort Collins. Sited south of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, the 90,000-sf facility will be comprised of the Clinical Pathology Laboratory, the CSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, and the Animal Population Health Institute. Completion is slated for December 2009.

North Carolina State University (NCSU) broke ground on a 248,291-sf facility for the College of Engineering in Raleigh on February 27, 2008. Sited on the 1,000-acre Centennial Campus, Engineering Building III will house the Joint Department of Biomedical Engineering (with UNC Chapel Hill) and the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. Slated to open in August of 2010, the $70 million facility will contain 80 laboratories, eight classrooms, a wind tunnel, and faculty and graduate student offices.

Western College of Veterinary Medicine (WCVM) is engaged in an expansion of its diagnostic laboratories in Saskatoon. The facility will house postmortem rooms and laboratories for animal disease diagnosis and will be constructed to national biosafety standards. The project began construction in fall of 2006 and is expected to reach completion in 2008. The existing diagnostic laboratory will be renovated once the expansion is complete. The project is part of a major WCVM construction initiative.

Boston University broke ground in late February 2008 on its new facility at Dubai Healthcare City (DHCC). The project, part of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Academic Medical Centre, is slated for completion in 2011. The facility will house graduate and postgraduate programs in dentistry and allied health sciences.

The University of Florida broke ground on the Pathogens Research Facility in Gainesville on February 27, 2008. Housing the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the $60 million facility is slated for completion in August of 2009. Accommodating research on select agents and viruses including SARS, West Nile, and avian influenza, the 108,000-sf building will house BSL-3 facilities, 28 laboratories, offices, three rooftop greenhouses, and support. In addition to the construction cost, the building will contain $15 million in equipment.

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is planning to construct the 130,000-sf Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Funded by $60 million from the state of Florida and $53 million in infrastructure expenditures from the city of Port St. Lucie, the facility will operate on funds from National Institutes of Health research grants. The project, to be constructed in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition over three years, will be modeled on OHSU’s Beaverton facility with which it will be affiliated.

The University of Oregon in Eugene dedicated the $16 million Lorry I. Lokey Science Complex in February of 2008. The underground nanotechnology research laboratory is associated with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, a consortium that includes the University of Oregon, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, and nanoscience industry partners.

The University of Missouri broke ground in February of 2008 on a $2 million agricultural laboratory at the Greenley Research Center in Novelty, Mo. Part of a planned Learning and Discovery Park for life science partnerships, the project includes a separate conference center. The facility will be comprised of research laboratories, chemical handling and storage, and instrument storage. Completion is slated for late fall or early winter of 2008.

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock began site work in February of 2008 on a six story facility for the Donaghey College of Engineering and Information Technology (EIT). Construction will begin in earnest on the $30 million, 120,000-sf facility in summer of 2008. The expansion will be connected to the existing EIT building by a skywalk. The duration of construction is estimated at 18 months. The new facility will enable the University to consolidate engineering programs in a single location.

Engineers at the University of Maine unveiled a prototype of a blast-resistant wood building in February of 2008. Located at the Advanced Engineered Wood Composites (AEWC) Center in Orono, Maine, the facility is constructed with coating treatments applied to the construction material with a design methodology that enables the material to withstand blasts and weather conditions such as hurricanes. This innovation follows on the heels of AEWC’s development of ballistic tent panels for the U.S. Army in 2007.

Michigan State University (MSU) has selected SHW of Plano, Texas to design a 32,000-sf education facility in Dubai’s International Academic City (DIAC). The $2.5 million project will house MSU’s Construction Management, Family and Community Services, Communication Arts, and Computer Engineering programs. SHW designers are taking two floors of shell space in a new building through programming, conceptual design, schematic design, and design development, which includes mechanical, electrical and architectural development.

The University of Utah received $1.25 million from the Micron Technology Foundation to support the creation of a nanofabrication research and teaching laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah. The gift will support construction of a core nanofabrication facility in a 185,000-sf building under development for the new Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. The nanofabrication laboratory, which will occupy 10 percent of the building, will be built with vibration-free cleanroom technology.

The University of Guelph received $9.5 million from the Ontario government in February of 2008 to create a primary care teaching hospital for the Ontario Veterinary College. The research and education facility will provide an enhanced clinical learning environment for small animal care and enable the college to expand training in nutrition, health and wellness. The University is also receiving $8.1 million to support energy efficiency, infrastructure, and safety improvements.

The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will begin construction in early 2010 on a $90 million general research building. Located adjacent to UTMB’s Primary Care Pavilion, the laboratory and office building is slated for completion in 2012. The 140,000-sf facility will reach four to five stories high and will contain 76,000-sf of dedicated research space.