Research Facilities Design (RFD)

With its Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation, Santa Clara University has bridged the stark divide between the entrepreneurial mindset of its Silicon Valley neighbors and the steadfastness typically found in academia. Colleges and universities frequently borrow ideas from, and sometimes consult with, the companies they hope will hire their graduates. Santa Clara took it one step further by involving the corporate donor in every phase of the design. The result is a facility—featuring student-driven project spaces, interconnected and accessible faculty work areas, and collaborative teaching and research environments—that represents the expectation of Silicon Valley for its graduates to be ready to work across disciplines and on integrated teams.

Carnegie Mellon University is constructing a $75 million replacement facility for the Alan Magee Scaife Hall of Engineering in Pittsburg. More than doubling the size of the original building, the 120,000-sf structure will provide technology-rich research labs, flexible classrooms, and spaces for formal and informal collaboration.