Higher Education

The University of Iowa dedicated the $33.5 million Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences building in Iowa City in January of 2020. Creating a new gateway to the east side of campus, the 66,470-sf teaching and research facility provides technology-rich classrooms and labs, administrative offices, conference rooms, and breakout spaces. Supporting programs in neuroscience, psychology, computational modeling, and virtual reality, the six-story structure features an interior plaza and a learning commons to promote interaction and collaboration.

Sacred Heart University will begin construction in summer of 2020 on a $60 million hockey and skating complex in Fairfield, Conn. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative and JLG Architects, the project will include an expansive ice arena capable of accommodating 4,000 spectators. The multifunctional facility will also be used to host special events such as guest lectures, concerts, and convocations.

The University of British Columbia opened the renovated and expanded Life Science Teaching Laboratories in January of 2020 in Vancouver. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and HDR, the interdisciplinary complex provides active learning environments, classrooms, study spaces, faculty offices, and state-of-the-art teaching and research labs.

Construction of the $65 million Wanek School of Natural Sciences at High Point University (HPU) in North Carolina is part of a campus transformation that began in 2005. The 127,417-sf Wanek building, which opened in August 2019 to house the biology, chemistry, and physics departments, is helping HPU meet the demand for more space to accommodate an increasing number of students and faculty.

Texas A&M University dedicated the College of Dentistry's $127 million Clinic and Education Building in Dallas in January of 2020. Designed by Kahler Slater and BRW Architects, the 160,000-sf facility provides specialized clinics, clinical support spaces, faculty offices, classrooms, study areas, and approximately 300 dental chair stations. Supporting a new curriculum for team-based learning, the collaborative building will enable students to participate in an innovative group practice model for the delivery of patient-centric care.

Oklahoma State University is planning to break ground in spring of 2021 on a $100 million facility for the College of Agriculture in Stillwater. Designed to promote hands-on, experiential learning, the building will offer flexible teaching and research labs, dynamic classrooms, collaboration spaces, and faculty offices. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2023. OSU is also building the $7.1 million Animal Nutrition and Physiology Center.

West Virginia University is constructing a $100 million facility for the John Chambers College of Business and Economics in Morgantown. Designed to reflect the modern workplace environment, Reynolds Hall will feature technology-enabled classrooms and labs for team-based experiential learning. The collaborative facility will include a shared atrium, venues for large gatherings and events, faculty and staff offices, a fitness center, and entrepreneurial zones for business incubation and acceleration.

The Ohio State University is planning to build the $155.9 million Interdisciplinary Health Sciences Center in Columbus. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Acock Associates Architects, the project includes the renovation of 150,000 sf in Hamilton Hall and construction of an adjacent 100,000-sf facility to create a collaborative hub for interprofessional education.

The University of Connecticut is planning to construct the $240 million Science 1 building in Storrs. Housing the Institute of Materials Science and Engineering, the 198,000-sf facility will offer a 240-seat active learning room, specialized research labs, teaching labs, core labs, computational labs, a cleanroom, and faculty and administrative offices.

Southern New Hampshire University opened the 67,000-sf College of Engineering, Technology, and Aeronautics in January of 2020 in Manchester, N.H. Accommodating STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the three-story building provides flexible teaching labs, collaboration spaces, a drone flight area, a wind tunnel, a 3D printing lab, a wood shop, and suites for robotics, virtual reality, and materials science.

The University of Texas at Dallas is constructing the $101 million Science Building to provide leading-edge teaching and research spaces for the departments of physics, mathematics, and chemistry. Designed by Stantec, the 186,000-sf collaborative facility will feature 12 instructional laboratories, a large learning venue with integrated classroom and lab functions, and specialized suites for optics, acoustics, and cryogenics.

Pennsylvania State University is planning to build the $56.8 million Center for Innovation, Making and Learning in State College. The project will include the demolition of the existing James Building and construction of an 85,000-sf facility accommodating maker spaces, workshops, a virtual reality and immersive technology lab, lecture venues, and co-working and collaboration areas.

The University of Cincinnati is constructing the 180,000-sf Digital Futures Building in the Uptown Innovation Corridor. Designed by KieranTimberlake with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the interdisciplinary facility will provide applied research labs for the creation of innovative robotic, automotive, and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technologies.

Corporate and academic research institutions are shifting towards a more interdisciplinary model for designing new lab buildings, with the goal of accelerating discovery times and increasing innovation. This means creating more open, team-based laboratories, with shared equipment and collaboration areas that increase interaction between scientists from different disciplines while optimizing space and resources. Two recent case studies illustrating this approach include the new 840,000-sf Novartis Institutes for Biomedical Research (NIBR) in Cambridge, Mass., and a new 316,000-sf academic science facility at Towson University near Baltimore, Md. While one project is corporate and the other academic, much of the design and programming for both projects is focused around mapping out the research activities needed to get to the desired outcome.

University of South Florida Health opened the $173 million Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in January of 2020 in Tampa. Designed by HOK, the 395,000-sf facility provides large auditoriums, adaptable classrooms, and an experiential learning lab to support the delivery of team-based medical pedagogies. Instructional spaces are integrated with lab areas on four floors of the building to encourage interdisciplinary interaction.