Ballinger

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is joining a growing wave of pharmaceutical research facilities that are incorporating small-scale manufacturing into their spaces. Fitting the manufacturing suites into an underground floor of an existing building was a challenge for architect, engineer, and scientist alike. The suites are designed to produce clinical vectors, important “vehicles” to which drug companies “attach” treatments so that those treatments reach the right location in a patient’s body.

The University of Rhode Island opened the $150 million Fascitelli Center for Advanced Engineering in September of 2019 in Kingston. Designed by Ballinger to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation, the six-story, 190,000-sf facility provides three large active-learning classrooms, teaching and research labs, core instrumentation suites, two computer labs, a robotics lab, a 24/7 student maker space, and capstone project areas. The building also offers 90 faculty offices, six faculty lounges, and six conference rooms.

Swarthmore College opened the $120 million Maxine Frank Singer '52 Hall in September of 2019 in Swarthmore, Pa. Designed by Ballinger to accommodate programs in biology, engineering, and psychology, the 160,000-sf facility provides flexible classrooms, labs, and common spaces to support enhanced pedagogical experiences linked to environmental sustainability. The interdisciplinary building comprises a lab wing, a garden pavilion containing departmental offices, and a transparent three-story commons.

Virginia Commonwealth University is planning to build a $121 million facility in Richmond to accommodate programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Located on the Monroe Park Campus, the six-story, 168,000-sf teaching and research facility will provide wet and dry labs for programs in chemistry, biology, physics, psychology and kinesiology.