Higher Education

Challenged by a two-fold increase in undergraduate enrollment over the past six years, the Washkewicz College of Engineering at Cleveland State University has invested $62 million in a building addition to continue its commitment to students and industry to graduate “ready-to-go engineers.” The 100,000-sf Washkewicz Hall, completed in two stages in December 2017 and December 2018, adjoins the 200,000-sf Fenn Hall, which has been the home of the College of Engineering for decades.

North Carolina State University broke ground on the $160 million Plant Sciences Building in Raleigh in September of 2019. Designed by Flad Architects, the five-story, 184,000-sf facility will allow academic, government, and industry researchers to develop innovative solutions for global agricultural challenges. Located on the Centennial Campus, the building will house growth chambers, environmental rooms, core instrumentation suites, and labs for genotyping, spectrometry, ag-bio engineering, and chemical and soils analysis.

The University of Oklahoma opened the 75,500-sf Gallogly Hall in late September of 2019 in Norman. Designed by Page Southerland Page to house the Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, the facility provides technology-rich classrooms and teaching labs, a large lecture hall, a maker space, faculty and graduate student offices, interactive learning venues, and a rooftop terrace.

Cleveland State Community College broke ground in late August of 2019 on the $25 million Health and Science Center in Cleveland, Tenn. Designed by BarberMcMurry Architects to promote interactive and experiential learning, the 53,617-sf facility will accommodate programs including nursing, paramedic and EMT training, and medical assisting.

Arizona State University is planning to build the $192 million Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 7 (ISTB7) in Tempe. Designed by Architekton and Grimshaw, the 258,000-gsf facility will provide research labs for biological and life sciences, sustainability, and engineering, as well as offering dry labs for programs in computing, cybersecurity, and robotics. In addition to public outreach and exhibit spaces, ISTB7 will include classrooms and a conference center with a 450-seat presentation hall.

Pennsylvania State University is planning to construct the $98.5 million Animal, Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences Building in University Park. Designed by HOK, the 105,000-sf facility will provide the College of Agricultural Sciences with research labs, a general-purpose classroom, faculty offices, seminar rooms, and a state-of-the-art vivarium.

California State University, Sacramento opened the $91 million Ernest E. Tschannen Science Complex in September of 2019. Designed by CO Architects to accommodate the departments of biology and chemistry, the five-story, 96,631-sf structure offers teaching and research labs, classrooms, a 120-seat planetarium, and a rooftop observatory. Learning studios, labs, and corridors utilize glass walls to put science on display, and student collaboration areas with full-height vertical wood fins provide semi-private spaces for interaction.

Northern State University opened the $25.2 million Jewett Regional Science Education Center in late August of 2019 in Aberdeen, S.D. Designed by TSP and SmithGroup, the 54,000-sf STEM facility features "classatories" for disciplines including biology, ecological sciences, chemistry, physics, and biomedical sciences. Comprising two wings, the building houses research labs, a tissue culture lab, an imaging suite, a computer classroom, an 80-student classroom, a flex classroom, and faculty offices.

Singapore Institute of Technology broke ground in September of 2019 on the Punggol Coast campus. Strategically sited on two plots of land in the JTC Punggol Digital District, the project will provide 240,000 gsf of education, research, and innovation space, and will eventually enable the university to consolidate its six existing locations.  Designed as a living laboratory for sustainability, the campus will be powered by a sophisticated microgrid, created in partnership with SP Group, that will supply gas, electricity, and thermal energy.

The Milwaukee School of Engineering opened the $34 million Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall in September of 2019. Designed by Uihlein/Wilson - Ramlow/Stein Architects to accommodate programs in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and robotics, the 65,536-sf facility offers flexible, technology-enhanced classrooms, teaching and research labs, and a 1,024-sf data center with a GPU-accelerated supercomputer.

Texas Tech University broke ground in September of 2019 on a $90 million complex for the School of Veterinary Medicine in Amarillo. Located at the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center, the project includes construction of a two-story, 185,000-sf facility providing classrooms, research labs, surgical suites, anatomy labs, and pathology studios. A second building located at Mariposa Station will offer large animal housing facilities and a clinical skills training center.

The University of Washington is partnering with Gonzaga University to create the Health Sciences and Innovation Building in Spokane. Supporting the Regional Health Partnership initiative, the $60 million medical education facility will accommodate the physician assistants program and the department of human physiology.

The University of Wyoming opened the $105 million Engineering Education and Research Building (EERB) in September of 2019 in Laramie. Designed by ZGF Architects to provide maximum flexibility, the 110,000-sf facility leverages drop-down utilities and services to create reconfigurable labs for collaborative teaching and research. The four-story project features the Student Innovation Center, a maker space with prototyping, fabrication, and 3D printing technologies.

The University of Cincinnati opened the $61 million Health Sciences Building in September of 2019. Designed by Perkins+Will and Moody Nolan, the 117,000-sf facility accommodates interprofessional education programs for the College of Allied Health Sciences. A curved glass curtainwall allows abundant natural light to illuminate the four-story structure, which offers flexible lecture halls, classrooms, and labs for interactive learning.

Texas A&M University opened the $70 million headquarters of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) in September of 2019 in Bryan. Located on the RELLIS campus, the 190,000-sf facility provides advanced engineering research facilities for the creation of new transportation technologies and strategies for the optimization of infrastructure, construction materials, driver safety, and automated vehicles.