Higher Education

The University of California, San Diego opened the $67 million Design and Innovation Building in La Jolla in November of 2021. The four-story, 74,000-sf facility is a dynamic hub for experiential learning and discovery that collocates entrepreneurial activities previously dispersed across campus. Sited adjacent to a new light rail station and an outdoor amphitheater, the multidisciplinary structure includes four distinct spaces.

The Ohio State University broke ground in November of 2021 on the $48.4 million Energy Advancement and Innovation Center in Columbus. Designed by Smith-Miller + Hawkinson Architects and Moody Nolan, the 66,000-sf facility will enable faculty members, students, entrepreneurs, and industry affiliates to pioneer new renewable energy technologies, smart energy systems, and green mobility solutions.

The University of Texas at Dallas and UT Southwestern broke ground on the Texas Instruments Biomedical Engineering and Sciences Building in November of 2021. Located on the East Campus of UT Southwestern Medical Center, the 150,000-sf facility will strategically collocate complementary research programs to foster the discovery and development of innovative medical solutions.

East Carolina University opened the $90 million Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building in November of 2021 in Greenville, N.C. Designed by Lord Aeck Sargent, the 141,500-sf facility provides leading-edge wet and dry labs for programs in biotechnology, bioprocessing engineering, biophysics, environmental engineering, biofuels, plant biology, environmental biology, and imaging and sensor development.

The University of Oxford began construction in November of 2021 on the £200 million Life and Mind Building in the United Kingdom. Designed by NBBJ to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, the 270,000-sf facility will house the departments of experimental psychology and biology, which will include space for programs in zoology and plant sciences.

The University of California, Riverside began construction in October of 2021 on the $100 million Education Building II to provide innovative learning environments for the School of Medicine. Created by the design-build team of CO Architects and Hensel Phelps Construction Company, the 90,000-gsf (57,000-asf) facility will feature state-of-the-art classrooms, lecture halls, and specialized instructional venues. The five-level building will also provide meeting rooms, study areas, lounges, support spaces, and faculty offices.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the third quarter of 2021. Key points include:

The University of Mississippi broke ground in October of 2021 on the $175 million Jim and Thomas Duff Center for Science and Technology Innovation in Oxford.

Eastern Washington University opened the $67 million Interdisciplinary Science Center in Cheney in October of 2021. Designed by LMN Architects with Research Facilities Design as laboratory design consultant, the four-story, 102,000-sf facility features vibrant social spaces supporting a variety of teaching laboratories that put science on display. Accommodating programs in physics, chemistry, biology, and geology, the student-centered building offers sophisticated classrooms, lecture halls, offices, collaboration spaces, and study areas.

The newly renovated Robert A. Welch Hall lays the groundwork to transform the way science is taught and done at the University of Texas, Austin, to move from siloed departments to transdisciplinary research that focuses on emerging fields that occur at the interfaces of traditional core science departments. While the sciences had been almost entirely housed in separate single-department buildings, the College of Natural Science’s master plan calls for more program-based facilities. The renovation infuses the building with light and increases its research capacity by 30 percent.

The University of Arizona began construction in October of 2021 on a $42 million renovation and expansion of the historic Old Chemistry Building in Tucson. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch and Poster Mirto McDonald, the project will provide the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry with 55,000 sf of renovated space featuring four new collaborative classrooms, three teaching studios for online instruction, a visualization cave for immersive virtual learning, and technology-rich research labs.

Towson University began construction in October of 2021 on the $175 million College of Health Professions in Towson, Md. Designed by Perkins&Will and JMT Architecture, the 240,000-sf facility will accommodate growing programs in nursing, health sciences, occupational therapy, occupational science, and speech-language pathology and audiology.

The University of Vermont is building the $45 million Firestone Medical Research Building in Burlington. Designed by Payette and Black River Design, the collaborative 62,250-sf structure will provide the Larner College of Medicine with core facilities, flexible labs, conference rooms, and support spaces.

The new Community Commons at the University of Denver (DU), one of three major new buildings that opened at the school’s campus this fall, serves as the centerpiece of a student-oriented campus neighborhood that also includes a new residence hall and career center. The Commons is designed to provide students the knowledge, resources, and relationships they need to navigate their college experience, with gathering spaces, support services, and centralized dining options. It was designed in direct response to the goals established in the university’s strategic plan to center, elevate, and enrich the student experience.

The University of Arizona broke ground in September of 2021 on the $99 million Grand Challenges Research Building in Tucson. Designed by ZGF Architects and BWS Architects, the 115,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide flexible labs for programs in optics, quantum computing, advanced communications, and biomedicine.