Time and money restrictions are prompting some universities to ditch plans for new construction in favor of renovation or expansion to accommodate their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) programs. Opting to renovate requires stakeholders to evaluate the existing building for the ability to accommodate the equipment and infrastructure needed to provide the best user experiences in the most versatile spaces, the highest level of productivity, and ample flexibility for future programs.

The booming life sciences industry, whose investment in corporate research and development spending more than doubled during the last decade to $212 billion in 2020, is giving birth to millions of square feet of new research laboratory space in the U.S.—29 million sf in 2019, up from 17 million sf in 2009. Much of that recent growth is in gene and cell therapy R&D.

The University of Missouri (MU) has undertaken a major space reduction and relocation project on its main Columbia campus, with a goal of eliminating 1 million gsf by 2024—250,000 gsf more than originally planned. A shortage of maintenance funding prompted the project, as the school faced an $881 million backlog in deferred maintenance and building needs for the affected properties. Over the past 10-15 years, the state has experienced financial challenges resulting in stagnant or reduced maintenance funding, and tuition-generated funding cannot make up the difference needed for proper building maintenance. The Strategic Space Reduction and Relocation Plan will reduce the university’s current deferred maintenance and capital needs backlog by over $200 million and save approximately $9 million in annual operations costs if the stated goals are met. By the end of 2022, MU will have eliminated 623,917 gsf through demolition and divesting of properties.

Since its opening in 2017, the University of Idaho’s 78,500-gsf Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) has attracted a cumulative total of $144 million in grant funding, roughly 20 percent of all the research dollars coming to the school. Among other signs of success, the $52 million, three-story structure has hosted 30 different research teams whose work has generated 35 Ph.Ds., 77 master’s degrees, and close to 900 publications. Offering wet and dry labs, offices, collaboration spaces, core research facilities, and event space, the building breaks away from the traditional research paradigm to focus on projects rather than faculty or departments. But the design and operation have presented some challenges in the first five years, including a wall of south-facing windows, concrete lab flooring, and a small loading dock.

Considered one of the first and largest university-level makerspace programs in the country, the Bernard M. Gordon Learning Factory on Penn State University’s main campus in State College, Pa., has operated in its original building for more than 30 years with only minimal facility renovations. It will soon relocate to 103,000 sf in one of two new state-of-the-art academic engineering buildings under construction on the campus, a move that the Learning Factory program director says will help the program continue to compete with the growing number of makerspaces being established throughout the academic marketplace. The Learning Factory, which pairs students with more than 100 industry sponsors each year, is scheduled to begin prototyping several classes in the new facility in January 2023, with full occupancy targeted for that summer.