Higher Education

Virginia Tech opened the $70 million Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building in Blacksburg in August of 2024. ZGF Architects designed the flexible and adaptable facility to address the current and future needs of the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Resources and Environment, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences. Offering 26 wet, dry, and specialty labs, the four-story, 102,746-gsf structure features a maker space with both wet and dry functionality called the Discovery Suite.

St. John's University will open the St. Vincent Health Sciences Center in September of 2024 on the Queens campus in New York. Designed by CannonDesign, the $106 million facility features state-of-the-art laboratories, active learning classrooms, and simulation suites to train the next generation of caregivers. The 70,000-sf building strategically collocates the School of Nursing with other allied health programs to promote interprofessional education, supported by flexible teaching venues where teams of students can work together.

The decreasing amount of time researchers spend in their labs is changing research facility design and space allocation, with an increased need for lab support space, a more significant reliance on core facilities, the creation of additional write-up and data analysis environments, and the purposeful inclusion of collaboration spaces.

The new Library and Learning Center at the Community College of Philadelphia (CCP) has transformed the school’s former library from a quiet place filled primarily with stacks of books into a welcoming and dynamic environment focused on providing students access to the resources needed to succeed academically. In addition to the library, the renovated facility includes the learning lab, which brings together tutoring support previously housed in three different locations, a student academic computing center, nine group study rooms, two academic classrooms, and a One-Button studio for video production. The number of computers available for student use throughout the entire facility has increased from 30 to 300, an important advantage for the many CCP students who do not own personal computers.   

The University of Sheffield is planning to construct the £37 million Central Teaching Laboratory in the United Kingdom. Designed by Twelve Architects and BVN Architecture, the five-story, 85,000-sf facility will provide advanced instructional settings for the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health. Two super labs accommodating 300 students will leverage extensive glazing to put science on display, complemented by specialized venues for tissue culture, anatomy, and applications requiring a fume hood.

The University of Wisconsin-River Falls is constructing the $117 million Science and Technology Innovation Center (SciTech) to provide dynamic environments for hands-on discovery. Designed by BWBR Architects, the 134,560-gsf building will accommodate programs in biology, chemistry, physics, and psychology, as well as supporting related courses in pre-engineering, biotechnology, and neuroscience.

Whitworth University is constructing the $20 million PACCAR Engineering Building in Spokane, Wash. Integrus Architecture's vision for the two-story facility will provide approximately 21,000 sf of space arranged around three phases of the creative process. EXPLORE will include classrooms, seminar rooms, research labs, and administrative offices. DESIGN will incorporate a computational design lab and a prototyping suite, and MATERIALIZE will offer a metal fabrication shop and resources for working with other materials.

Texas Tech University opened the $112.5 million Academic Sciences Building in Lubbock in August of 2024. Enhancing the student experience with new venues for active learning and exchange, the 130,000-sf facility was designed by BGK Architects and EYP Architecture & Engineering (now a Page company). The three-story structure provides teaching and laboratory space for five departments: chemistry and biochemistry, physics and astronomy, biological sciences, geosciences, and psychological sciences.

The University of Utah opened the Impact and Prosperity Epicenter in August of 2024 in Salt Lake City. Collocating academic, entrepreneurial, and residential functions, the 284,800-sf facility serves as a living and learning community for the David Eccles School of Business. The six-story structure features The Forum, a vibrant gathering place where users from diverse programs can network and collaborate.

Roper Hall, the new medical education building at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, features a 240-person active learning theater, a dedicated medical student commons, 16 small seminar rooms, six medium-size classrooms, a medical simulation center, and a clinical skills suite for inter-professional training … and not a single lecture hall.

Northwestern University broke ground in July of 2024 on Ryan Field, an $800 million stadium and community destination in Evanston, Ill. Designed by HNTB with Perkins&Will as associate architect, the replacement facility will reduce seating capacity to 35,000, bringing fans much closer to the field for a more engaging and intimate experience. Wide concourses and terraces with unobstructed viewing areas and refreshment stands will provide plenty of room for gathering, complemented by numerous outdoor plazas and green spaces.

The University of New Hampshire completed the renovation and expansion of Spaulding Hall in Durham in late July of 2024. Ellenzweig designed the $89 million project to provide the Department of Biological Sciences with state-of-the-art research labs, core facilities, instructional settings, and collaborative learning venues. Slated to achieve LEED certification, the sustainable structure collocates programs in biochemistry, neuroscience, ecology, cell culture, medical laboratory science, and anatomy and physiology.

The University of Virginia is planning to begin construction in fall of 2024 on the $100 million Karsh Institute of Democracy in Charlottesville. Designed by Höweler + Yoon with Hanbury as architect of record, the 69,320-sf facility will offer an ecosystem of spaces for the exploration and enhancement of democratic culture, laws, and institutions. The four-story structure will include a welcoming lobby with a spiral staircase where all members of the university community can gather and interact.

GPI Companies opened a Class A facility in July of 2024 that will be occupied by the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). Offering collaborative resources for numerous programs, the 112,000-sf building will serve as a vibrant destination for innovation, lifelong learning, and workforce training. Both the Division of Extended Studies and UC San Diego Health Sciences will occupy space in the five-level structure, which includes a café on the ground floor.

The University of North Texas at Dallas is constructing the $100 million STEM Building to provide current and future students with expanded learning opportunities in the sciences, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Stantec is providing integrated design services for the 128,000-sf facility, which will offer up to 20 general purpose “high-flex” classrooms, nine teaching labs, three research labs, and numerous collaboration spaces. Adaptable wet labs will leverage modular infrastructure to accommodate a variety of biology and chemistry courses.