Higher Education

Before the completion of Morgan State University’s new student services building, students had to brave a warren of offices in a converted mental hospital located on the southern edge of the Baltimore campus whenever they had an administrative issue to resolve. An innovative, centrally located building designed as a “one-stop shop” for student services has changed all that, making it much easier for students to get the answers they need.

The Ohio State University broke ground in January of 2024 on the $52 million Multispecies Animal Learning Center in Columbus. Designed by Wellogy, the 100,000-sf facility will provide the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences with a dynamic hub for training and research. State-of-the-art classrooms and demonstration areas will support a progressive pedagogy of experiential education, augmented by a series of interconnecting barns with specialized housing for swine, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, and poultry.

The University of Portland opened the $40 Million Shiley-Marcos Center for Design & Innovation in January of 2024. Designed by Opsis Architecture with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 43,800-sf building features collaborative environments for hands-on learning and discovery. The cross-disciplinary structure provides maker spaces, ideation studios, prototyping and fabrication suites, a propulsion and combustion lab, and dedicated shops for working with metal, wood, and electronics.

Smith College will break ground in March of 2024 on the $32 million Kathleen McCartney Hall in Northampton, Mass. Designed by TenBerke, the sustainably designed facility will house the Lazarus Center for Career Development and the Wurtele Center for Leadership in a dynamic hub where students can explore future possibilities and acquire new skills. The 15,000-sf building will provide eight open work areas, interview rooms, collaboration spaces, advising offices, and areas for recruiting events and seminars.

Imperial College London opened the £120 million Laboratory of Medical Sciences in January of 2024 on the Hammersmith Hospital Campus. Designed by Hawkins\Brown to support team science, this collaborative hub for translational research accommodates programs in genetics, sex-based disease differences, and heart and metabolic disorders. The 130,000-sf structure features highly controlled lab environments carefully interwoven with comfortable write-up spaces and shared amenities.

The University of Toronto is building the Academic Wood Tower to provide additional program space for the Rotman School of Management, the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, and the Faculty of Kinesiology & Physical Education. Designed by Patkau Architects and MJMA, the 14-story structure is sited atop a robust foundation and first floor that was created during the construction of the Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport.

Tulane University opened the Steven and Jann Paul Hall for Science and Engineering in January of 2024 in New Orleans. Designed by Payette and Waggonner & Ball, the 76,000-sf building offers flexible research venues, sophisticated classrooms, and common spaces for increased student and faculty interaction.

Michigan State University’s first new instructional building in 50 years incorporates the disparate elements of a long-mothballed power plant, modular infrastructure, and mass timber. The facility on the East Lansing campus consolidates MSU’s large core undergraduate STEM courses under one roof, with both wet and dry teaching labs, classrooms, and student support space.

Washington University in St. Louis opened the $616 million Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building in January of 2024. Designed by Perkins&Will and CannonDesign, the 608,825-sf facility provides interactive lab neighborhoods where up to 120 teams can engage in collaborative discovery. An 11-story, 584,050-sf research tower is capable of accommodating up to 1,000 investigators from the departments of neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and anesthesiology.

The University of Nebraska is constructing the $95 million Kristensen Rural Health Education Building on its Kearney campus. Created in collaboration with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the 114,000-gsf facility will accommodate programs in medicine, nursing, and allied health, as well as offering professional development, training, and continuing education opportunities.

Marshall University opened the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation in January of 2024 in Huntington. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the 77,000-gsf facility provides the Lewis College of Business with state-of-the-art finance and computer labs, a maker space, offices, study areas, and a 360-seat auditorium. Technology-enabled classrooms that range in size from 32 to 96 seats are furnished with flip-top nesting desks on wheels for optimal flexibility.

Utah Tech University is constructing the $70.5 million General Classroom Building in St. George to provide next-generation learning environments for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. Designed by Method Studio, the 120,091-sf facility will accommodate programs in psychology, applied sociology, criminal justice, English, philosophy, history, political science, and communication and media studies. This vibrant academic hub will offer 53 instructional venues including lecture halls, classrooms, and labs, as well as 26 student collaboration spaces.

The University of Central Florida broke ground in January of 2024 on a new home for the College of Nursing at Lake Nona Medical City in Orlando. Designed by Ayers Saint Gross and HuntonBrady, the Dr. Phillips Nursing Pavilion will address a statewide shortage of healthcare professionals by enabling the university to graduate an additional 150 nurses each year. The $68 million development will provide classrooms, flexible instructional venues, wet and dry labs, offices, and study zones.

Trammell Crow Company is developing Science Square in Atlanta to provide Georgia Tech with state-of-the-art facilities for learning, research, and innovation. Ground was broken in September of 2023 on the third phase of construction at the site, a 416,500-sf complex with two towers linked by a shared circulation core. Envisioned as a vertical quad, this dynamic social zone will offer myriad collaboration venues with a large gathering area for presentations and events.

The University of California, Riverside is constructing a vibrant new home for the School of Business. Created by the design-build team of Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners and McCarthy Building Companies, the $87 million facility will centralize academic activities currently dispersed across campus while accommodating significant programmatic growth.