Academic Medical

Bristol Community College broke ground on the $27 million Sbrega Health and Science Building in May of 2014 in Fall River, Mass. Designed by Sasaki Associates, the 46,000-sf collaborative facility will accommodate programs in biology, biotechnology, chemistry, clinical laboratory science, dental hygiene, environmental science, medical technology, microbiology, and nursing. The building will include classrooms, teaching labs, offices, and an atrium. The construction manager for the project is BOND.

Arkansas Tech University will begin construction in October of 2014 on a 20,273-sf allied health building on the Ozark campus. Supported by $6 million in revenue bond funding, the two-story facility will provide technology-rich teaching labs and clinical simulation suites as well as faculty and staff offices, three computer labs, and a testing center. Completion is expected in November of 2015 with occupancy in spring of 2016.

Memorial Herman Hospital will begin construction in summer of 2014 on a $650 million expansion of its Houston facility. The project includes the addition of 24 operating rooms, 16 emergency bays, 160 inpatient beds, parking, and a café. Six floors of shell space will be built to accommodate future growth. Completion is expected by 2018. Memorial Herman is the primary teaching hospital for the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Medical School.

Panola College broke ground on the $35 million W.C. Smith Health Science Center in May of 2014 in Carthage, Texas. The 76,000-sf facility will provide science classrooms, a simulation training lab, a lecture hall, and teaching labs for programs in nursing, biology, chemistry, anatomy, physiology, and microbiology. Completion is expected in July of 2015.

University of Chicago Medicine is planning to build a $60 million health center in Orland Park, Ill. The four-story, 120,000-sf facility will provide orthopedic and radiation oncology services, as well as other medical specialties such as cardiology, gastroenterology, pediatrics, and women’s health. Occupancy is expected in 2016.

The Greenville Health System (GHS) is capitalizing on the combined strength of its long-standing commitment to education and its partnerships with regional universities to flip the model of the academic health center and create a “clinical university.”

The Karolinska Institute is planning the second phase of construction at the Medical Research Laboratory in Solna, Sweden. Project developer Akademiska Hus AB has awarded Skanska a $61 million contract to construct a nine-story, 183,000-sf interdisciplinary research building. The first phase of construction at the Biomedicum campus is a $190 million, 678,000-sf facility, which is also being built by Skanska with completion slated for 2018.

University College London Hospital is planning to build a $253 million cancer treatment facility in London. Providing advanced radiotherapy for the treatment of tumors, the 360,000-sf Proton Beam Therapy Centre will include an inpatient hospital and technology-rich surgical suites. The design team includes Jones Lang LaSalle, Scott Tallon Walker, and Edward Williams Architects. Completion is expected in 2018.

Froedert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin are building the Center for Advanced Care in Wauwatosa, Wis. The eight-story teaching hospital will enable Froedert to consolidate all surgical procedures in a single location and will house the Heart and Vascular Center, the Transplant Center, and Preoperative Outpatient Management. The facility will also provide simulation suites, anatomy labs, and team-based learning areas. The project is being built with three floors of shell space to accommodate future growth and a mechanical level.

The University of North Dakota began site work in April of 2014 on a $124 million facility for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Grand Forks, N.D. The 320,000-gsf building was designed by JLG Architects working in collaboration with Perkins+Will and Steinberg Architects. Located on an 8.3-acre site, the footprint of the four-story medical school is 78,000 sf.

The kind of technology prevalent in today’s health sciences education requires a robust infrastructure that must be figured into a facility’s design during the budgeting and planning stages. Virtual simulation, virtual anatomy, tablet computers, 3-D stereographic display, software tools for collaboration, and touch interaction with LCD monitors—even the tried-and-true classroom technology, such as whiteboards, videoconferencing, telephone conferencing, dual-image large screen projection, large screen LCD monitors, and connectivity for personal devices—all require thoughtful consideration.

Cubresa introduced a compact, affordable SPECT scanner for preclinical research in early 2014. The scanner attaches to existing small animal CT systems, transforming them into multi-modality molecular imaging systems for disease study, translational research, and drug discovery applications. The product features a slim bore which positions the imaging detectors close to the animal subject, optimizing spatial resolution. Advanced detector technology improves sensitivity to balance radiation dose with accelerated study throughput.

The University of Texas broke ground in April of 2014 on a $334 million campus for the Dell Medical School in Austin. The 515,000-sf project will provide teaching, research, and administrative facilities, as well as a medical office building and a parking garage. The general contractor for the campus is JE Dunn and completion is expected by fall of 2016. Project partners Seton Health and Central Health will build an adjacent teaching hospital, the $295 million, 211-bed Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas.

Rochester Institute of Technology broke ground on the Clinical Health Sciences Center in April of 2014 in Henrietta, N.Y. Accommodating programs for the College of Health Sciences and Technology, the 45,000-sf facility will include dedicated space for the new Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition as well as housing a primary care clinic operated by Rochester General Health System. Constructed as an addition to the existing Louise M.

Black Hawk College broke ground on the $15 million Health Sciences Center in April of 2014. Located on the Quad-Cities campus in Moline, Ill., the three-story, 46,300-sf facility will provide eight labs, two classrooms, two conference rooms, a 64-seat lecture hall, and faculty offices. The center will accommodate programs in nursing, physical therapy, emergency medical services, surgical technology, veterinary assistance, and health information management. Completion is expected in June of 2015.