Higher Education

To support its cutting-edge research in self-operated machines, the Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST) at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) is equipped with several groundbreaking capabilities that set it apart from other engineering research facilities. At the top of the list are a drone testing arena capable of mimicking a full gamut of real-world weather conditions, and a zero-gravity-simulating space lab whose epoxy resin floor has been ground and polished to a final flatness of 0.003 of an inch. Three CAST components—the aerodrome, assembly lab, and the Space Robotics Controls Laboratory (SRCL)—are located in the 1940s-era Kármán building, originally constructed for wartime hydrodynamics research. Working with CO Architects and Matt Construction, Pasadena-based Caltech renovated the bunker-like building to create new types of spaces for cross-campus collaborations in the expanding field of autonomous drones, robots, and satellites, with a focus on practical applications in science, industry, and medicine.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is planning to break ground in November of 2018 on a $134 million student housing and dining complex. Developed and operated in partnership with EdR, the $107.8 million, 267,500-sf residential project will include living units, classrooms, maker spaces, two lounges with demonstration kitchens, two computer learning commons, and music practice rooms. A $26.1 million, 38,000-sf dining commons will also be constructed, with occupancy of both structures expected in fall of 2020.

Ross University’s School of Veterinary Medicine opened the $10.5 million Research and Pathology Building in July of 2018 in Basseterre, Saint Kitts. Providing eight laboratories, the 19,000-sf facility offers 13,000 sf of research space, 4,000 sf of student space including a 1,500-sf learning center, and 2,000 sf of pathology space with suites for necropsy and histology. Designed to promote multidisciplinary collaboration and interaction, the building will support the One Health initiative in addressing the interconnectivity of animal, human, and environmental health.

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is building the new Pinnacle Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. Designed by Stantec to provide integrated, patient-centric care, the 220,000-sf facility will offer 130 private rooms, surgical suites with robotic technologies, cardiovascular catheterization labs, a labor and delivery unit, a 14-bed critical care unit, and a 28-room emergency department. An adjacent 75,000-sf building will house an outpatient surgery center, an imaging suite, an infusion center, and other support functions.

The University of Vermont is planning to build the $45 million Biomedical Research Complex in Burlington. Designed by Payette and Black River Design, the project includes construction of a 60,000-gsf (35,000-asf) facility to provide flexible, collaborative research space for the Larner College of Medicine. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will allow faculty and staff to share resources efficiently across disciplines and departments.

The new Campus Crossroads at the University of Notre Dame is the largest construction project in the school’s 175-year history. The project, which was four years in the making, consists of three new adjacent buildings anchored to the south, east, and west sides of the iconic 87-year-old stadium. The overarching goal was to integrate academic and student life into the game day experience at a facility that previously had been used for only eight days a year—for football games and commencement. The addition of 800,000 sf of new facilities transformed it into a year-round center of athletics, academics, and student life, with classroom, research, fitness, digital media, performance, meeting, event, and hospitality space.

The Foisie Innovation Studio & Messenger Residence Hall at the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts supports a project-based curriculum and inspires new generations of students by merging three facility types in one building: interdepartmental maker/innovation space, high-tech active learning classrooms, and a 140-bed residence hall. The $50-million building, slated for completion in Augustn 2018, is designed for use by students from all academic disciplines. It offers a multidisciplinary environment to facilitate hands-on learning; collaboration between faculty, students, and external partners; and opportunities for entrepreneurship and innovation.

Texas A&M University will begin construction in summer of 2018 on the 21st Century Classroom Building in College Station. Designed by Perkins+Will in collaboration with Bora Architects, the $85 million academic facility will provide more than 2,200 classroom seats across 10 classrooms ranging from 72 to 630 seats.

North Dakota State University is engaged in a $28 million renovation and expansion of its health professions building in Fargo. The project includes construction of a six-story, 74,000-sf addition to Sudro Hall to provide collaborative learning environments for team-based healthcare education, and renovation of spaces in the existing building. Collocating all the school's health programs in a single location, the completed facility will include new and renovated laboratories for teaching, research, and clinical skills development.

16 Tech Community Corporation will break ground in fall of 2018 on the $30 million Advanced Research and Innovation Facility in Indianapolis. The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute will lease space in the five-story, 120,000-sf building, which represents the first phase of construction in the 16 Tech Innovation District. The 60-acre development will include a second office and research building, a 250-unit apartment complex, and renovated warehouse facilities.

Elizabethtown College is building the $24 million Bowers Center for Sports, Fitness and Well-being. Designed by CannonDesign, the 82,000-sf facility will include three recreation courts, an indoor track, a field house with tennis courts, locker rooms, a demonstration kitchen, a café, a collaboration lounge, and areas for yoga, weight training, and group fitness. Illuminated by abundant natural light, the center will provide space for individual and group counseling, educational workshops, and peer education activities.

High Point University is building the $65 million Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences in High Point, N.C. Accommodating the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics, the four-story, 128,000-sf facility will provide advanced classrooms and labs to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Astronomy courses will be enhanced by the new 6,000-sf Culp Planetarium, a 125-seat facility offering a 50-foot dome with sophisticated audiovisual technologies. An adjoining conservatory will also be constructed.

After nearly a decade of gathering data about what makes a STEM facility competitive and attractive to students and faculty, EYP Architecture & Engineering has distilled five features that are key to radically redesigning successful STEM facilities. Survey results obtained from more than 1,500 students and 330 faculty members at six universities reveal the characteristics in a facility’s design that help make the institution more competitive, enhance the effectiveness of science and engineering teaching, advance faculty and student research, increase the students’ interest in the STEM disciplines, and promote welcoming places to learn, study, and interact.

Construction will begin in late 2018 on the £20 million Maritime Knowledge Hub in Birkenhead in the United Kingdom. Located in the Wirral Waters redevelopment, the collaborative maritime education and research facility is being created by a partnership of Liverpool John Moores University, Peel Land and Property, Mersey Maritime, and Wirral Council.

WVU Medicine broke ground in June of 2018 on a women's and children's tower in Morgantown, W.V. Located at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, the $152 million facility will feature a 61-bed neonatal ICU, a 25-bed pediatric ICU, a 39-bed pediatric acute care unit, a 30-bed labor and delivery unit, and a medical office building housing subspecialty clinics. Designed by IKM, the eight-story tower will offer private patient rooms (with 11 NICU rooms for twins) as well as a pharmacy, a laboratory, an imaging suite, and operating rooms.