Academic Medical

Baylor St. Luke’s is building a $1.1 billion medical campus in Houston. Created by Catholic Health Initiatives and Baylor College of Medicine, the project includes a $917 million, 650-bed hospital with two bed towers as well an ambulatory care complex and laboratories for basic and translational research. The 27.5-acre McNair Campus will enable Baylor St. Luke’s to consolidate clinical services currently located at the Texas Medical Center and will also be the future site of the Texas Heart Institute.

A backlog of construction, renovations, and upgrades may finally come to life, thanks to the $2 billion increase in NIH funding Congress approved in December, the first increase in more than 12 years. More than 80 percent of the $32 billion NIH budget is dedicated to extramural research—research outside the NIH itself—meaning that an additional $1.6 billion in research grants will be made available this year.

Stamford Hospital opened a $5.2 million outpatient building in January of 2016 in Stamford, Conn. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative and built by AP Construction, the 46,000-sf renovation project provides modern space for a broad array of clinical services including adult primary care and specialty consultation; urogynecology and pelvic surgery; obstetrics and gynecology; diabetes and endocrinology; and radiology.

The National Institutes of Health will receive a federal funding increase of $2 billion from a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in December of 2015. Representing the largest funding increase in over a decade, the legislation will establish the NIH's annual budget at $32 billion.

The Medical College of Wisconsin will break ground in spring of 2016 on a $58 million administrative building in Wauwatosa. Designed by Flad Architects with C.G. Schmidt as construction manager, the 225,000-sf facility will stand approximately seven stories high and will house up to 1,200 faculty and staff members. Completion is expected in fall of 2017.

Tusculum College is building the $30 million Meen Center for Science and Mathematics in Greenville, Tenn. Designed by John Fisher + Associates, the four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs, classrooms, and lecture halls for programs in biology, chemistry, computer science, nursing, mathematics, and environmental science. Rentenbach Constructors began work on the project in May of 2015 and completion is expected in September of 2016.

A remarkable evolution in the tools and methods of research is driving a host of trends in laboratory planning and design, including fewer permanently assigned offices, a decided prioritization of computational over “wet” space, and an emphasis on core facilities and shared equipment, according to a survey of research organizations and A/E/C firms conducted by Tradeline.

The University of Kansas Medical Center began construction in fall of 2015 on the $75 million Health Education Building in Kansas City. Serving as the primary teaching facility for the schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions, the 171,000-sf building will provide advanced simulation training suites and flexible, technology-rich learning spaces to support emerging healthcare pedagogies and interprofessional education programs.

South Louisiana Community College will break ground in early 2016 on a $17.1 million health and science facility in Lafayette. The three-story, 63,000-sf building will accommodate programs in nursing and allied health as well as providing space for STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The project will also house administrative offices, a 250-seat auditorium, a virtual hospital, computer labs, conference rooms, and wet and dry science teaching labs. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2016.

Sanford Health began building the $30 million Edith Sanford Breast Center in fall of 2015 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Designed by Architecture Incorporated, the three-story, 48,000-sf facility will provide space for clinical trials, a core lab for genomics research, a biobank, a multidisciplinary conference center, and a comprehensive range of services including mammography and surgery. The project includes 27,000 sf of renovated space in the adjoining Sanford Cancer Center and 58,000 sf of new construction.

University of Utah Health Care opened a new inpatient wing at University Hospital in Salt Lake City in December of 2015. The 30,000-sf Acute Care Unit provides a total of 38 rooms arranged in three self-contained pods designed for maximum efficiency. The facility is located on the fifth floor of the hospital and was designed and built in just nine months in order to meet the demand for acute inpatient services.

Rush University Medical Center is planning to construct a $500 million outpatient center in Chicago. Connecting to the existing hospital tower, the nine-story, 620,000-sf facility will accommodate a comprehensive array of outpatient services including primary and specialty care, surgery, imaging, radiology, and rehabilitation. Completion is expected in 2020.

The Pennsylvania State University's Health and Human Development Building was awarded the 2015 Gold Project Leadership Award in November of 2015 by the Construction Owners Association of America (COAA). Completed in summer of 2015, the structure was the second building of a two-phase expansion of the College of Health and Human Development, collocating several research centers near the main academic departments.

The University of Utah Medical Center is building a 130,000-sf hospital in Farmington. Supporting research, teaching, and patient care, the facility will house the Huntsman Cancer Institute as well as providing an urgent care center, surgical suites for inpatient and outpatient procedures, clinical space for primary care and medical specialties, radiology, a diagnostic laboratory, and a pharmacy. General contractor Layton Construction began work on the project in June of 2015 and completion is expected in August of 2016.

Lake-Sumter State College broke ground in December of 2015 on a 51,000-sf instructional facility for programs in science and healthcare. Designed by Leo A. Daly, the $11.6 million project will feature laboratories for biology, chemistry, physics, microbiology, organic chemistry, health science, and anatomy and physiology.