Higher Education

When the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), began to develop a new vision for its historic urban campus, they knew they wanted a high level of stakeholder engagement. The team that came together to work on the academic and research building called on elements of Lean construction, including Gemba walks and journey mapping, as part of design thinking, to empower users to co-create the spaces in which they will work. The new facility—a 310,000sf space in a dense urban environment—is scheduled for completion in 2028.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette broke ground in July of 2024 on a $55 million facility that will house the newly established Engineering Center of Excellence. Designed by Holly & Smith Architects and The Sellers Group, the Engineering Student-Centered Collaborative Building will offer 65,000 sf of learning and research space spread over three levels. A vibrant first floor with a 5,000-sf maker space will include an interactive stair that leads up to a second-level collaboration zone for group projects and club activities.

The University of California has selected Flad Architects as executive architect for the UCLA Research Park Master Plan Study, a roadmap for the transformation of the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall in Los Angeles into a nexus for discovery and innovation. Leasable lab and office environments will enable industry, academic, and government partners to benefit from collocation with two multidisciplinary research centers.

East Los Angeles Community College District is planning to construct the $145 million Kinesiology, Wellness, and Athletic Complex in Monterey Park, Calif. Designed by HED, the 110,000-sf structure will act as a prominent campus gateway where students can connect with their peers, the local community, and the therapeutic power of nature. The biophilic facility will showcase the college’s health science programs to those attending sporting events, while catalyzing the evolution of the west campus as a destination for personal and social wellbeing.

Carnegie Mellon University is constructing the $100 million Robotics Innovation Center in Pittsburgh. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the three-story, 150,000-sf facility will feature reconfigurable high-bay labs and flexible R&D venues that address robotic systems at different scales. Open wet labs will allow interdisciplinary teams to engage in group projects, supported by a range of specialized shops and instrumentation suites.

The University of Southern California is planning to break ground in late 2024 on the $315 million Discovery and Translational Hub on its Health Sciences Campus in Los Angeles. Designed by SmithGroup, the seven-story, 250,000-gsf building will provide advanced biomedical research environments in a ratio of 75 percent wet lab to 25 percent dry lab. Sited atop two additional levels of subterranean shell space, the 150,00-asf facility will include collaboration areas, offices, meeting venues, a biorepository, and a core lab for medicinal chemistry.

Brown University began demolition in summer of 2024 to make way for the Integrated Life Sciences Building (ILSB) in Providence’s Jewelry District. Standing seven stories high, the 300,000-sf facility will provide six levels of wet and dry laboratories for research programs in biology, medicine, neuroscience, bioengineering, and public health. TenBerke and Ballinger designed the center with a publicly accessible ground floor that will offer a forum, gallery, and café.

Colleges and universities are competing for the best faculty to serve a shrinking pool of students. The only way to demonstrate an institution’s value proposition with “an immediate, tangible, noticeable impact” is through its facilities, not just in their quality, but in the stories they tell.

Virginia Tech will open the $85 million Hitt Hall in August of 2024. Providing 33,000 sf of dedicated space for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the 99,429-sf facility also integrates leading-edge academic spaces and dining amenities. The three-story structure features the Innovation Lab, a high-bay venue where students can work on large-scale projects, with the surrounding Innovation Plaza supplying additional capacity for outdoor instruction and demonstrations.

Colorado State University broke ground in May of 2024 on a $230 million redevelopment of the Veterinary Health and Education Complex (VEHC) in Fort Collins. Designed by Clark & Enersen, the expansion and renovation project will feature a 213,000-sf replacement teaching hospital that will offer unique opportunities for immersive education. The sustainable structure will feature two 80-seat active learning classrooms with interactive workstations, as well as eight exam rooms equipped with advanced simulation technologies.

Texas A&M University broke ground in May of 2024 on the $41 million Engineering Classroom and Research Building. Designed by Page, the 54,000-sf facility will elevate the experience of first-year students and accommodate growing enrollment. The three-story building will feature a technology makerspace with advanced design and prototyping equipment, as well as faculty-led research laboratories.

Johns Hopkins University broke ground in June of 2024 on a significant expansion of the Bloomberg School of Public Health. The South Building will rise next to the school’s existing home in the heart of the East Baltimore campus to accommodate growing programs while driving interaction between faculty, clinicians, and students.

Texas State University will begin construction in August of 2024 on the  $140 million STEM Classroom Building in San Marcos. Designed by Ayers Saint Gross and PGAL, the eight-story, 168,000-gsf facility will house the departments of mathematics and computer science, as well as providing instructional venues, class labs, departmental offices, and research labs for several other academic disciplines.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture broke ground in June of 2024 on a new facility for the Dairy Forage Research Center in Prairie Du Sac, Wis. Created in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the world-class complex will enable the Agricultural Research Service to work side-by-side with academic investigators to develop sustainable solutions for animal husbandry, food production, and water management.

UNC Charlotte has plotted a course for the future that prepares the campus for an 11% enrollment increase overall, with a 13% increase in STEM disciplines. The priority is student success, a UNC systemwide performance-based metric for a new funding model that ties funding to student success and graduation rates rather than just enrollment numbers. The goal is for more students to graduate on time with less debt. The strategy to achieve that goal includes creating the kinds of spaces that students need and want in order to succeed, with more opportunities for active, hands-on learning.