Higher Education

Stonehill College broke ground in June of 2017 on the 36,000-sf Academic and Welcome Center in Easton, Mass. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the facility will serve as the gateway to the college for prospective students and their families, as well as a dynamic hub for academic and social activities. Located on the college’s main quad, the building will feature large classrooms and seminar rooms integrated with faculty offices to enhance interaction, a 380-seat auditorium, an outdoor terrace, and a variety of gathering spaces.

Texas A&M University broke ground in June of 2017 on the $70 million headquarters of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Located on the RELLIS campus in Bryan, the 190,000-sf facility will provide advanced engineering research facilities for the creation of transportation technologies and strategies for the optimization of infrastructure, construction materials, driver safety, and automated vehicles. The building will include a single-story research wing with a vehicle simulator lab, a three-story conference wing, and a multi-story tower.

The University of Kansas is engaged in a $4 million renovation project to create the National Security Laboratory in Lawrence. Sited on the basement level of the Bioscience and Technology Business Center on the West Campus, the 7,000-sf facility will support collaborative research with the Department of Defense and other government agencies on radar, remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles, signal processing, and sensors. The secure laboratory will accommodate up to 40 employees and is expected to open in spring of 2018. 

The University of Colorado will begin construction in July of 2018 on the $61.4 million William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Colorado Springs. Created in partnership with Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, an affiliate of Centura Health, the 104,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, research labs, and clinics for sports medicine, imaging, pain management, athletic training, and physical and occupational therapy.

Texas Tech University broke ground in June of 2017 on a 200,000-sf expansion of the Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. The $86 million project includes construction of University Center, a new campus hub providing research labs, administrative offices, classrooms, and conference rooms. The project also involves the addition of anatomical science facilities, including a technology-rich gross anatomy lab, and more parking areas. Completion is expected in summer of 2019. 

The University of Minnesota is planning to build the $109 million Health Sciences Education Center in Minneapolis. Designed by Perkins+Will, the project includes the creation of a new 142,100-sf facility and renovation of 52,000 sf of existing space. The center will feature active-learning classrooms, simulation training suites, and a technology-rich library. JE Dunn is the construction manager at-risk for the facility. Completion is expected in late 2019, pending project funding approval by the state legislature.

The University of Texas at San Antonio broke ground on the $95 million Science and Engineering Building in June of 2017. Designed by TreanorHL and Alamo Architects to promote interaction and collaboration, the multidisciplinary facility will provide research labs, teaching labs, active learning classrooms, and faculty offices to support programs in chemistry, biology, chemical engineering, and neurology.

All lab work—experiments, equipment usage, write-ups—occurs on countertops, but these flat horizontal surfaces are rapidly changing. “Today, lab work surfaces need to be adaptable, flexible, ergonomic, mobile, reconfigurable, versatile, sustainable, design-oriented, aesthetically pleasing, cost-effective, and easy to install,” says Arnulf Penker, president of FunderMax, a designer and producer of wood-based materials and compact laminates in St. Veit an der Glan, Austria.

Idaho State University broke ground in May of 2017 on the $34 million Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine. Located adjacent to ISU’s Health Science Center in Meridian, the 94,000-sf facility is being built by Engineered Structures Inc. Completion is expected by fall of 2018.

Bowie State University opened the $102 million Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing in June of 2017 in Bowie, Md. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 149,000-sf facility provides a clinical simulation center, undergraduate teaching labs, a plant sciences greenhouse, and a three-story elliptical multipurpose space with 25,000 sf of dynamic window glazing.

The University of Luxembourg is building an animal research facility on its Belval campus in Esch-sur-Alzette. Supporting research programs in neurology, oncology, and immunology, the project will provide two breeding rooms, three surgical suites, three behavioral rooms, and vivarium space for approximately 6,000 mice and rats. Construction began on the facility in December of 2016 and occupancy is expected in September of 2017.

Ball State University has awarded F. A. Wilhelm Construction a $40 million contract to build the Health Professions Building in Muncie, Ind. Housing the College of Health, the $49 million project will include two structures, of four and five stories respectively, joined by a central core. The 165,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, labs, offices, simulation suites, clinical spaces, and a resource hub. Ground will be broken on the project in late June of 2017 with completion expected in June of 2019.

The University of Tennessee opened the 268,000-sf Strong Hall Science Laboratory in Knoxville in May of 2017. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative and Lewis Group Architects, the $114 million renovation project created a flexible, interdisciplinary facility to house the departments of anthropology and earth and planetary sciences, as well as providing teaching and research space for the departments of biology and chemistry.

Renovating an existing science facility or constructing a new building at today’s busy colleges requires the right approach in order to minimize the impact on students and faculty, while also adhering to the institution’s financial goals and strategic plan. It is important to design the project in a manner that allows students to complete their courses, and for faculty to maintain their research and teaching schedules. This is achieved with one of three phasing strategies: using 100 percent temporary facilities, no temporary space, or a hybrid of both.

The University of Southern California completed construction in June of 2017 on the $185 million Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience in Los Angeles. The 190,000-sf translational research facility offers collaborative labs and offices for 30 principal investigators, as well as housing a 7,200-sf microscopy imaging suite and a 10,000-sf nanofabrication cleanroom offering Class 100 and 1,000 capabilities.