Higher Education

The University of Leicester began construction in March of 2018 on an expansion of its existing student union building in the United Kingdom. Designed by Shepheard Epstein Hunter, the mixed-use project includes the addition of a four-story extension to the east wing which will house a large food court, social learning spaces, and an informatics labs to support programs in information science. A new façade and entrance will also be created to enhance campus connectivity.

Purdue University Northwest will break ground in summer of 2018 on the $40.5 million Bioscience Innovation Building in Hammond, Ind. Designed by CannonDesign to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the 68,000-gsf facility will provide advanced instructional labs, collaborative learning rooms, clinical simulation suites, and research labs. Slated for completion in June of 2020, the building will accommodate progressive teaching and research programs for the Department of Biological Sciences and the College of Nursing.

The University of Cincinnati is building a new facility for the Carl H. Linder School of Business. Designed by Henning Larsen Architects to promote interaction and collaboration, the $120 million project will provide over 240 faculty offices, a three-story atrium, a 250-seat auditorium, and a 150-seat, two-story lecture hall. The four-story, 225,000-sf project will also offer research labs, flexible classrooms, exam and tutoring areas, numerous huddle and breakout rooms, a variety of open workspaces, and two spacious courtyards.

Boise State University broke ground on the $50 million Micron Center for Materials Research in April of 2018. Designed by Hummel Architects and Anderson Mason Dale Architects, the four-story, 85,000-sf teaching and research facility will provide over 40 research laboratories, two 80-seat classrooms, a 250-seat lecture hall, and offices and work spaces for faculty, staff, and graduate students.

Ivy Tech Community College will invest $43 million to renovate and expand facilities on two campuses. The $17.2 million Downtown North Building in Muncie will be constructed to accommodate the Culinary Arts program, which will feature a chocolates laboratory, a café, testing and assessment rooms, and student services. A $12.7 million upgrade of the Fisher Building will build out the fourth floor to house the School of Nursing and the School of Health Sciences, with teaching labs sited on a renovated basement level. A new south entrance will also be created.

The University of Nottingham began construction in March of 2018 on the third phase of the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences (CBS) in the United Kingdom. Located on the University Park Campus, the five-story 65,000-sf facility will provide biomedical research labs for the study of cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory, bone, and liver diseases. Designed by Benoy to promote collaboration by collocating researchers in one purpose-built structure, the center will include pedestrian bridges to the Boots Science Building and the existing CBS complex.

Leading optical manufacturer Zeiss broke ground in April of 2018 on a $37 million innovation hub in Karlsruhe, Germany. Created in partnership with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and located on the school's north campus, the ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT will provide collaborative research and development facilities for industry and academic startups such as Nanoscribe, a company focused on 3D printing and microfabrication. The flexible 129,000-sf hub will offer offices, meeting areas, laboratories, and production suites.

Angelo State University opened the $26 million Archer Health and Human Services Building in April of 2018 in San Angelo, Texas. Designed by PBK Architects, the three-story, 50,000-sf facility provides flexible lecture rooms, teaching labs, classrooms, a simulation training center, and faculty and administrative offices. The project includes a new academic testing center and houses the departments of nursing, physical therapy, and psychology. Construction began on the facility in December of 2016.

George Brown College is planning to begin construction in 2021 on the Arbour, a 10-story, 175,000-sf mass timber building. Located on a brownfield site on the Toronto waterfront, the net-positive, carbon-neutral facility will house the Tall Wood Research Institute, the School of Computer Technology, flexible classrooms, research space for sustainable building technologies, and a childcare facility.

Bayer Crop Science is partnering with the University of California, Davis to create the CoLaborator facility in West Sacramento. Located in Bayer's Innovation Hub for Crop Science, the 3,000-sf facility will offer open, flexible facilities to support university-affiliated startups. Housing up to ten researchers, the project will provide equipment for the testing of agricultural and food-related innovations integrated with collaboration spaces for interaction with other entrepreneurs.

The University of Otago is constructing a NZD$50 million animal research building on its south campus in Dunedin, New Zealand. Located near the School of Medicine, the five-story, 42,367-sf facility will feature advanced technologies to optimize the welfare of the mice, rats, guinea pigs, birds, and pigs utilized in the University's research programs. Construction began in August of 2016 and completion is expected in early 2019. 

California State University, Bakersfield is planning a $27 million expansion of the existing 17,000-sf student union. The two-story, 40,000-sf addition will provide a large flexible event and lecture hall, 12 conference rooms, student lounges, a game room, a loft, club project rooms, an interaction hallway, a food prep area with microwaves, and the relocated CSUB Food Pantry.

The Texas A&M University System is planning to construct the $22.8 million Veterinary Education, Research & Outreach Center at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. Strategically sited adjacent to the new Agricultural Sciences Complex and the relocated Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, the facility will accommodate programs for two Texas A&M campuses, Canyon and College Station. The VERO Center will offer classrooms, labs, and livestock facilities for experiential animal sciences education and training. Completion is expected in 2020.

Marquette University is planning to build an $18.5 million facility for its physician assistant program in Milwaukee. Designed by HGA and Groth Design Group, the 44,000-sf building will accommodate sophisticated classrooms, teaching labs, and clinical simulation rooms. The project will enable the university to address primary care provider shortages and meet increasing enrollment demand. The construction manager is C.D. Smith and occupancy is expected in summer of 2019.

Many young people entering academia and the workforce today have grown up with “maker spaces,” where equipment like 3D printers helps bring together teams creating in the physical world. The spaces—available in schools, libraries, and community centers, as well as universities and corporations—teach technical skills but also foster soft skills, like collaboration and project planning. Successful maker spaces can be popular and productive, drawing in visitors, donors, and prospective students. But they require thoughtful planning to manage the demand for space, and effective governance for budget, safety, and training, while also leaving room for the experimental and creative spirit the spaces seek to encourage.