“Smart labs” and the Internet of Things—with sensors and actuators that gather information about the lab environment and adjust its systems according to that data—have been around for a while. But a new wave of construction is allowing designers to incorporate smart concepts from the ground up, providing sensitive and responsive ventilation and airflow systems to a newly COVID-sensitized lab marketplace. Architects and engineers are working together to create flexible systems that respond in real time to conditions inside a research lab. “In a nutshell, we would like a smart building to operate in correlation with its occupancy and utilization,” says Tom Smith, president and CEO of 3Flow.

With the rise of esports competitions in games like League of Legends, Fortnite, and Overwatch, colleges are under pressure to open campus spaces for both intercollegiate team matches and intramural clubs. Meeting this need requires flexible facility designs, attention to aesthetics, and, importantly, the involvement of related academic and extracurricular programs, says Rob Bailey, executive director of student affairs information technology at Illinois State University.

Thompson Rivers University (TRU) has made fighting climate change a top priority for its 250-acre campus in Kamloops, British Columbia. University leaders have committed that TRU will become a net-zero campus and be fossil fuel free by 2030. To that end, it is replacing fossil-fuel-powered heating and cooling with a new low-carbon district energy system (LCDES) that includes a combination of heat pumps powered by renewable electricity. TRU officials and others believe electrification through district energy is the most impactful way for institutions to wean themselves off fossil fuels.

College campuses are great for what they are—places to bring students and faculty together in the cause of learning and research. Today, though, universities are increasingly seeking to bring in private industry, to take advantage of research synergies and help build the next generation of innovations. New science building projects and renovations need to invite and encourage corporate teams as well as establish fruitful grounds for discoveries. The University of Arkansas faced this challenge when contemplating a new building— the Institute for Integrative and Innovative Research, nicknamed I3R—to house labs, core facilities and office space to support five research centers of excellence. They sought to convey an inviting image and a less ivy-covered appeal, starting with the location on the Fayetteville campus.

The University of Kansas Medical Center faced a dilemma: how to support its growing research programs and faculty needs amid budget restrictions, aging buildings, and a backlog of deferred maintenance, all in the shadow of a decision by the university’s governing board that it would no longer fund new construction. Tasked instead with renovating existing facilities, KU Medical Center (KUMC) partnered with a facilities asset management company to assess and compile data on the condition of all infrastructure components, including everything from the air handling units, chillers, and boilers to the carpet and sprinkler system.