Perkins&Will

Miami University and The Pennsylvania State University have transformed outdated buildings into modern STEM teaching and research centers while maintaining some of each building’s historic aspects. The projects aim to replace siloed labs, dark corridors, and dated HVAC systems with collaborative research facilities and up-to-date mechanicals, recapturing wasted space to provide areas where students can gather. Swing space for affected occupants was crucial—Miami University’s Pearson Hall remained partially occupied during construction, while Penn State’s Steidle Building was vacated—as was clear and frequent communication with faculty and other building users. Both projects required fairly complex phasing.

Marquette University opened the $24 million Athletic and Human Performance Research Center in March of 2019 in Milwaukee. Featuring 5,400 sf of core research labs for the study of human performance, the 46,000-sf facility provides strength and conditioning facilities for the department of athletics, as well as locker rooms and support areas for the school's golf and lacrosse programs.

The University of Texas at El Paso is constructing the $85 million Interdisciplinary Research Building. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 150,000-gsf project will provide collaborative research labs, a vivarium, imaging suites, core labs, a visualization suite, conference rooms, an atrium, an auditorium, and academic and administrative offices. Housing teams from multiple colleges, the flexible facility will be able to adapt with ease to accommodate changing research programs.

Ohio University will begin construction in summer of 2019 on a $65 million academic facility for the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens. Designed by Perkins+Will and DesignGroup, the three-story, 120,000-sf building will provide flexible and collaborative learning environments to support team-based medical education programs. The project includes construction of a fourth-floor mechanical penthouse and renovation of an adjacent building to house administrative offices.

Ohio State University began construction in January of 2019 on the $59 million Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex in Columbus. Featuring interactive laboratories for experiential learning, the five-story, 124,000-sf facility will provide an atrium, a 150-seat auditorium, two undergraduate computer labs, five classrooms, and open lab neighborhoods for faculty and graduate research.