Latest Reports

A leader in the field of plant sciences, Iowa State University, in Ames, Iowa, is recognized as a pipeline of new ideas and talent for the state’s massive agriculture industry. Yet despite explosive growth in biosciences enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the most recent biosciences building was 30 years old and “bursting at the seams,” says Mark Rhoades, chief design officer and principal, The S/L/A/M Collaborative.

Many young people entering academia and the workforce today have grown up with “maker spaces,” where equipment like 3D printers helps bring together teams creating in the physical world. The spaces—available in schools, libraries, and community centers, as well as universities and corporations—teach technical skills but also foster soft skills, like collaboration and project planning. Successful maker spaces can be popular and productive, drawing in visitors, donors, and prospective students. But they require thoughtful planning to manage the demand for space, and effective governance for budget, safety, and training, while also leaving room for the experimental and creative spirit the spaces seek to encourage.

Located in the historic Hood Park in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, Cambridge College’s new campus is a 108,000-sf fitout that includes 45 classrooms accommodating from 10 to 35 students, two teaching labs, computer labs, offices, and community space. Classrooms can be physically divided to accommodate larger or smaller numbers of students. The heart of the campus is the Town Common, a multi-purpose space that houses both Cambridge College and community events, giving the college a place to have large gatherings.

The new Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo returns UB’s medical school to downtown Buffalo and allows it to increase enrollment by 25 percent, with the goal of pursuing breakthroughs in biomedical research and transforming healthcare in Western New York. Three research floors are sandwiched between the classroom and lecture hall areas on the lower floors—which include a transit hub on the ground floor—and the more specialized teaching spaces on the upper stories. Deliberately positioned as a gateway to the medical campus, two L-shaped structures are linked by a six-story, light-filled atrium featuring multiple collaboration areas.

The new engineering building at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) not only relieves overcrowding at the College of Engineering and Mines, it also cultivates interdisciplinary research and entrepreneurship, with open, flexible labs; the incorporation of computer science; and a direct link to the School of Management. These features combine to create an environment where students learn hands on how to solve problems and speed their ideas to market, in a facility made transparent with extensive glazing, both inside and out.