Industry News

Florida Atlantic University, in joint venture with the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, has opened the 40,000-sf Marine Science Education Building in Fort Pierce, Fla. The $11-million facility is sited near Harbor Branch’s campus and is owned by the University. The public-private partnership will provide space for biological, chemical, and marine science research in order to develop pharmaceutical products from marine organisms. The facility includes a conference area and laboratories with autoclave fermentation technology.

Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., is planning a multi-building expansion of its School of Medicine comprising up to five buildings over the next fifteen years. The first $86-million facility, the Learning and Knowledge Center, is being designed by NBBJ of San Francisco. The 120,000-sf facility will connect the medical school with Stanford’s main campus and will house a biomedical library, classrooms, and hospital simulation rooms. Groundbreaking is slated for 2008.

The University of Memphis is planning several projects to expand its Tennessee campus. The $46-million University Center will include dining, a small theater, and a 24-hour zone including an all-night computer lab. A $20-million dormitory will begin construction in 2008. Both projects are slated for completion in 2009. The University is also planning to build a $75-million music building and a $23 million science building.

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., has selected URS Corporation to design the renovation of Bartlett Hall and its expansion into the attached Cadet Library. URS will provide comprehensive programming, planning, architectural design, and engineering services for the improvements to the historic 1913 building. Together the adjacent and connected buildings total over 321,260 gsf and will house teaching and research laboratories for chemistry, biology, physics, photonics, classrooms, offices, and support space.

The Medical College of Georgia dedicated its $34-million, 189,000-sf Health Sciences Building in Augusta, Ga., on January 19, 2007. The facility houses laboratories, classrooms, and clinics for the Schools of Nursing and Allied Health Sciences. An occupational therapy community integration suite is located on the second floor. The building features a two-story education wing of school-shared classroom space and five stories of specialized classrooms, labs, and office space. It has three large, auditorium-style classrooms equipped with distance-learning technology.