Industry News

The University of Maryland broke ground in August of 2021 on the $116 million Chemistry Building in College Park. Designed by Ballinger, the flexible 105,000-sf structure will provide 34 modular research labs with robust climate controls and vibration mitigation technologies. Accelerating innovation in advanced materials, nanoscience, energy storage, quantum chemistry, and drug discovery and delivery, the project will include two core facilities, 12 meeting and huddle rooms, open office environments, and 13,000 sf of collaboration space.

Rice University began site work in summer of 2021 for the $152 million Engineering and Science Building in Houston. Designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill with Scientia Architects as laboratory design consultant, the 266,000-sf structure will provide state-of-the-art labs, maker spaces, seminar rooms, interactive gathering areas, classrooms, and a dedicated prototyping facility. Flexible office areas will include touchdown spaces for faculty, graduate students, and staff.

The University of Victoria will break ground in early 2022 on a CAD$89.6 million project to provide new facilities for the Department of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS). A six-story addition to the existing ECS building will feature new laboratories and instructional venues for the university's growing programs in biomedical, civil, computer, electrical, mechanical, and software engineering. The adjacent High Bay Research and Structures Lab will enable large-scale experiments and the testing of new construction methods and materials.

Caltech is planning to break ground in April of 2022 on the $100 million Resnick Sustainability Resource Center in Pasadena. Designed by the Yazdani Studio of CannonDesign, the 80,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide sophisticated laboratory environments for research programs in climate science, ecology, biosphere engineering, energy, biofuels, decomposable plastics, solar science, and water and environmental resources.

Manchester Metropolitan University began construction in January of 2021 on the Science and Engineering Building in the United Kingdom. Designed by BDP, the seven-story, 160,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs, instructional venues, a 200-seat super lab, academic offices, collaboration spaces, self-directed learning areas, and a central atrium.