Higher Education

Universities across the country are looking to assemble students and faculty from different research interests in spaces that promote cross-disciplinary collaboration. Successful designs call for exteriors that beckon the entire campus community and flexible interior features that enable the institution to refresh the mix of researchers and projects at regular intervals. Such projects also call for encouraging a campus-wide sense of ownership of the building while establishing a space application review process. Opened in January 2017, the University of Idaho’s $52 million Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) works to accomplish these goals through building design choices and ongoing space management decisions. Randy Benedict, design leader and principal at NBBJ, and Russell McClanahan, IRIC facility manager, describe how those two activities—design and building management—work to make the IRIC a hub of interdisciplinary interactions at the campus in Moscow, Idaho.

Colorado State University opened the $65 million C. Wayne McIlwraith Translational Medicine Institute in May of 2019 in Fort Collins. The 130,000-sf facility provides the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences with equine and small animal surgery suites, flexible research labs, imaging rooms, instructional spaces, a surgical skills training lab, executive offices, and a 200-seat lecture hall.

Virginia Commonwealth University is planning to build a $121 million facility in Richmond to accommodate programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Located on the Monroe Park Campus, the six-story, 168,000-sf teaching and research facility will provide wet and dry labs for programs in chemistry, biology, physics, psychology and kinesiology.

Pennsylvania State University began construction in April of 2019 on the Donald P. Bellisario Media Center in University Park. Designed by Studios Architecture, the $43.5 million project includes the renovation of four floors in the existing Willard Building, which was originally built in 1949. Accommodating programs for the Bellisario College of Communications, the 63,131-sf media hub will feature open environments to encourage collaboration and creativity.

The founding institutions of TMC3 have announced a new project team for their planned 37-acre translational research campus in Houston.

Colleges and universities are rethinking their workplaces to align their space with how people work today and to use space to achieve their strategic goals. Beyond macro forces reshaping higher education in terms of access, accountability, and financial stability, there is a confluence of financial, environmental, technological, and cultural factors prompting this change, including increasing numbers of administrative staff and a growing disengagement among faculty and staff. But the most common mistake that institutions make when trying to change their workplace is assuming that they are trying to solve a space problem. Even if the impetus for a project is a space problem—you’re out of space and have no place to put the new faculty or staff member you just hired!—you won’t solve it by thinking about it that way. It’s more complex and nuanced than that. What you need first is a workplace strategy, a coherent statement that describes how your space will be used to help you achieve your larger strategic goals.

West Chester University broke ground in April of 2019 on the Sciences & Engineering Center in West Chester, Pa. The three-story structure will provide teaching labs, classrooms, offices, and study areas to support programs in biomedical engineering, health sciences, and physics. The facility will feature an immersive learning center with advanced simulation training technologies for courses in nursing, allied health, psychology, athletic training, and social work, as well as offering space for student services.

The University of Maryland opened the $152 million Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering in April of 2019 in College Park. Housing the Department of Computer Science and the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies, the six-story, 215,600-sf facility will support groundbreaking research and education programs in artificial intelligence, machine learning, computer vision, robotics, data science, cybersecurity, quantum computing, and virtual and augmented reality.

Centennial College opened the CAD$72 million Downsview Campus Centre for Aerospace and Aviation in April of 2018 in Toronto. Designed by MJMA in association with Stantec, the project included the renovation of the historic de Havilland Aircraft building to provide classrooms, teaching labs, and research space for programs in aviation, aircraft maintenance, and aerospace manufacturing. The 137,000-sf facility is sited on four acres and includes a hangar capable of accommodating commercial jets.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell celebrated the reopening of Perry Hall in April of 2019. Providing teaching and research labs, classrooms, collaboration areas, and space for industry partnerships, the $50 million project included the redevelopment of 47,825 sf of interior space and the addition of 5,600 sf on the fourth floor, which now connects to Ball Hall.

San Jose State University broke ground in April of 2019 on the $181 million Interdisciplinary Science Building in San José, Calif. Designed by Flad Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the eight-story, 161,200-sf facility will provide state-of-the-art teaching and research labs, flexible learning environments, collaboration hubs, and administrative offices.

Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic broke ground on the $80 million Health Futures Center in Phoenix in April of 2019. Designed by CO Architects and DFDG Architecture, the 150,000-sf facility will feature a med-tech innovation accelerator, biomedical engineering and informatics research labs, and an innovative education zone.

Simon Fraser University opened the CAD$126 million Sustainable Energy Engineering building in April of 2019 in Surrey, British Columbia. Designed by Revery Architecture with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 220,200-sf facility will accommodate programs in renewable energy, sustainable manufacturing, mechatronics, and clean power generation.

Colorado State University opened the $20 million JBS Global Food Innovation Center in April of 2019 in Fort Collins. Designed to promote innovation in food science, nutrition, animal welfare, and food safety, the 36,000-sf facility includes a comprehensive meat harvesting and processing center, a culinary research hub, 200-seat auditorium with a demonstration area, a retail store, and a café.

Auburn University will begin construction in summer of 2019 on the $22 million Advanced Structural Testing Laboratory in Auburn, Ala. The 41,500-sf facility will include a wind testing facility, a concrete materials research lab, a 4,700-cubic-foot geotechnical test chamber, and a high bay lab with floors and walls capable of handling extreme structural testing loads. Completion is expected in summer of 2020.