HGA

California State University, Dominguez Hills completed construction in September of 2020 on the $71.5 million Science & Innovation Building in Carson. Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 87,000-sf facility provides classrooms, labs, and faculty offices to support programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

As Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) experiences exponential growth of its online programs, it continues to invest in its physical campus, most notably in a new college of engineering. While the university is not looking to increase its on-campus enrollment, it is expanding its offerings on its Manchester, N.H., campus, with new facilities, an academic quad, two new residence halls, and a large greenspace. The centerpiece of this investment is the $45 million, 68,000-sf College of Engineering, Technology and Aeronautics (CETA), the first new academic building added to the Manchester campus in over a decade. The CETA building, which opened in January, is SNHU’s first new facility devoted to engineering technologies, and will help expand access to STEM education in the New England region.

Southern New Hampshire University opened the 67,000-sf College of Engineering, Technology, and Aeronautics in January of 2020 in Manchester, N.H. Accommodating STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the three-story building provides flexible teaching labs, collaboration spaces, a drone flight area, a wind tunnel, a 3D printing lab, a wood shop, and suites for robotics, virtual reality, and materials science.

Lehigh University broke ground on the $145 million Health, Science & Technology Building in October of 2019 in Bethlehem, Pa. Designed by Wilson HGA, the 190,000-gsf interdisciplinary facility will provide flexible research and teaching spaces, active learning studios, classrooms, social spaces, community areas, and offices. Supporting a culture of transparency and accountability, the five-story structure will utilize interior glass walls to encourage interaction and put science on display.

Churn—it’s the constant, costly reality of research space utilization, with a price tag that’s often underestimated. Also underestimated? The opportunity for organizations to realize cost savings, operational streamlining, and overall efficiencies amid the inevitable swapping of research teams and space during renovations and equipment relocations, asserts Mark Allen, AIA, architect and principal at Wilson HGA; and Jeanne MacLellan, principal of Dowling Houy. “Even with a client who’s in the midst of a renovation, we know that, in three to four years, they are going to be renovating again,” explains MacLellan. “We’re not eliminating churn and its inefficiencies; we’re maximizing options now that will minimize its impact down the road.”