Higher Education

The University of Rhode Island (URI) broke ground in March 2007 on the Center for Biotechnology and Life Sciences in Kingston, R.I. Funded in part by a $1 million donation from Amgen, the facility will serve as a major center of education and research that will drive economic development in the state's growing biotechnology industry. The architect for the center is Payette Associates of Boston, and Providence-based Gilbane Building Co. will serve as the construction manager.

Stanford University Medical Center has awarded Sodexho’s Health Care Services Division a five year facilities management contract for plant operations and maintenance. Including 4.5 million sf of space at Stanford Hospital and Clinics, Stanford University School of Medicine, and the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, the multi-million dollar contract will also include facility infrastructure renewal projects.

Acadia University in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, is initiating an $8-million facility infrastructure improvement plan with Johnson Controls. Entitled the “Sustainability Through Facilities Innovation Initiative,"  the project will reduce facility operating costs by lowering consumption of electricity, fuel oil, and water through system upgrades and the implementation of building automation systems and controls.

Pennsylvania State University has dedicated the new Food Science Building on its University Park campus. Part of the College of Agricultural Sciences, the 126,000-sf building is located in the East Sub-campus. The $46 million project was designed by IKM Incorporated with Gilbane Building Company as program and construction manager.

Lewis & Clark Community College is constructing the $23 million Daisy and Roger P. Templin Nursing Building at the Godfrey, Ill., campus. Ground was broken on the 70,000-sf project in September of 2005 and completion is slated for August of 2007. The four-story facility will include two biology labs, two chemistry labs, six tiered classrooms, eight nursing labs, two certified nurse assistant labs, a learning assistant specialist lab, faculty offices, and a computer lab.

Scripps Florida is planning to construct its new 350,000-sf facility on the Florida Atlantic University John D. MacArthur Campus in Jupiter, Fla. Slated for completion in December 2008, the $18.6 million project will include three buildings. Building A will focus on chemistry, drug discovery, and translational research. Building B will focus on biotechnology, cells, genomes, and proteins, with an auditorium, cafeteria, and administrative offices. Building C will focus on biology and biomedical research.

Stockton College broke ground on its $26.5-million Housing V Residential Community Commons in Pomona, N.J., in March of 2007. The project, designed by Hillier, will consist of four new dormitories. The buildings will be three stories, wood frame structures with flat roofs and will house 64 students in each building. Each suite will include four single bedrooms, a shared mini-kitchen, living room, and bathroom facilities. The project includes all underground utilities including geothermal wells.

Arizona State University is developing approximately 280,000-gsf of building space to accommodate teaching laboratories, academic classrooms, faculty offices, and related ancillary space. The project will accommodate the growth of four distinct but interrelated academic colleges: the College of Social Sciences & Humanities; the Morrison School of Management and Agribusiness; the School of Education, Innovation, and Teacher Preparation; and the College of Science and Technology. Design objectives include factors of identity, interdisciplinary research, and teaching.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine broke ground in March 2007 on the Center for Molecular Medicine in Reno. Designed by Dekker/Perich/Sabatini, the 100,000-sf building will accommodate basic science research departments such as microbiology, pharmacology, and physiology. The Center for Molecular Medicine features a two-wing design. The northwest wing will house vivarium, research space, laboratory, and office space.

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) is partnering with the National Institutes of Health to construct the $85 million Molecular Sciences Complex on UPR’s Rio Piedras campus. The six-story, 150,000-sf facility was designed by The Hillier Group of New York with PRIDCO of San Juan as project developer.

The University of Puerto Rico has initiated construction on the $15 million Bioprocess Institute on its Mayaguez campus. Designed by CMA Architects & Engineers of San Juan, the facility will accommodate monoclonal bioprocess research and pilot-scale production. Completion is slated for 2008.

Texas A&M University celebrated the opening of the QR520mn Engineering Research Building in Doha, Qatar, in March 2007. Located in the Qatar Foundation’s Education City, the facility is designed to be the most technologically advanced engineering research and education facility in the world. Designed by architects Ricardo Legorreta and Victor Legorreta, the complex consists of a four-story academic quadrangle connected to a three-story research building via an open multi-story atrium.

The University of Toledo has selected SSOE, Inc. and Ellerbe Becket as the architects for its upcoming Athletics Complex project. The project includes the construction of an addition to Savage Hall, the renovation of the Savage Hall arena, and the construction of an indoor practice facility adjacent to Savage Hall. Designs for Savage Hall and the new indoor practice facility will be unveiled in late 2007.

Humboldt State University is constructing a hydrogen fueling station at the Schatz Energy Research Center in Arcata, Calif. Funded in part by a $350,000 gift from Chevron Technology Ventures, the station will include an electrolyzer for on-site hydrogen production, storage tanks, a compressor, and a dispenser. The station is part of California's Hydrogen Highway program and will fuel a hydrogen-powered Toyota Prius and two additional vehicles.

The University of Cincinnati is engaged in a renovation and expansion of its Medical Sciences Building that is slated for completion in early 2008. The project includes clinical research space, infrastructure upgrades, a new library, bookstore, and study areas. The Medical Sciences Building will be connected to the new 239,000-sf Center for Academic Research Excellence (CARE) by glass bridges. The CARE facility wil house six floors of wet bench laboratories, one floor of teaching labs, a dining facility, a fitness center, electronic classrooms, and administration.