The Greenville Health System (GHS) is capitalizing on the combined strength of its long-standing commitment to education and its partnerships with regional universities to flip the model of the academic health center and create a “clinical university.”
The Karolinska Institute is planning the second phase of construction at the Medical Research Laboratory in Solna, Sweden. Project developer Akademiska Hus AB has awarded Skanska a $61 million contract to construct a nine-story, 183,000-sf interdisciplinary research building. The first phase of construction at the Biomedicum campus is a $190 million, 678,000-sf facility, which is also being built by Skanska with completion slated for 2018.
University College London Hospital is planning to build a $253 million cancer treatment facility in London. Providing advanced radiotherapy for the treatment of tumors, the 360,000-sf Proton Beam Therapy Centre will include an inpatient hospital and technology-rich surgical suites. The design team includes Jones Lang LaSalle, Scott Tallon Walker, and Edward Williams Architects. Completion is expected in 2018.
Froedert Health and the Medical College of Wisconsin are building the Center for Advanced Care in Wauwatosa, Wis. The eight-story teaching hospital will enable Froedert to consolidate all surgical procedures in a single location and will house the Heart and Vascular Center, the Transplant Center, and Preoperative Outpatient Management. The facility will also provide simulation suites, anatomy labs, and team-based learning areas. The project is being built with three floors of shell space to accommodate future growth and a mechanical level.
The University of North Dakota began site work in April of 2014 on a $124 million facility for the School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Grand Forks, N.D. The 320,000-gsf building was designed by JLG Architects working in collaboration with Perkins+Will and Steinberg Architects. Located on an 8.3-acre site, the footprint of the four-story medical school is 78,000 sf.
The kind of technology prevalent in today’s health sciences education requires a robust infrastructure that must be figured into a facility’s design during the budgeting and planning stages. Virtual simulation, virtual anatomy, tablet computers, 3-D stereographic display, software tools for collaboration, and touch interaction with LCD monitors—even the tried-and-true classroom technology, such as whiteboards, videoconferencing, telephone conferencing, dual-image large screen projection, large screen LCD monitors, and connectivity for personal devices—all require thoughtful consideration.
Cubresa introduced a compact, affordable SPECT scanner for preclinical research in early 2014. The scanner attaches to existing small animal CT systems, transforming them into multi-modality molecular imaging systems for disease study, translational research, and drug discovery applications. The product features a slim bore which positions the imaging detectors close to the animal subject, optimizing spatial resolution. Advanced detector technology improves sensitivity to balance radiation dose with accelerated study throughput.
The University of Texas broke ground in April of 2014 on a $334 million campus for the Dell Medical School in Austin. The 515,000-sf project will provide teaching, research, and administrative facilities, as well as a medical office building and a parking garage. The general contractor for the campus is JE Dunn and completion is expected by fall of 2016. Project partners Seton Health and Central Health will build an adjacent teaching hospital, the $295 million, 211-bed Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas.
Rochester Institute of Technology broke ground on the Clinical Health Sciences Center in April of 2014 in Henrietta, N.Y. Accommodating programs for the College of Health Sciences and Technology, the 45,000-sf facility will include dedicated space for the new Wegmans School of Health and Nutrition as well as housing a primary care clinic operated by Rochester General Health System. Constructed as an addition to the existing Louise M.
Black Hawk College broke ground on the $15 million Health Sciences Center in April of 2014. Located on the Quad-Cities campus in Moline, Ill., the three-story, 46,300-sf facility will provide eight labs, two classrooms, two conference rooms, a 64-seat lecture hall, and faculty offices. The center will accommodate programs in nursing, physical therapy, emergency medical services, surgical technology, veterinary assistance, and health information management. Completion is expected in June of 2015.
The three-story, 90,0000-sf Health Sciences Education building, which houses the School of Medicine at the University of South Carolina Greenville, establishes a new paradigm in health education. Funded entirely by Greenville Health System, the school is designed to fulfill its mission of collaborative learning and “patient-precise personalized care.”
University Health System opened the Sky Tower in San Antonio in April of 2014. The 10-story, 1 million-sf facility provides 420 private inpatient rooms, an 84-bed emergency department, 35 operating rooms, and a trauma center. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the tower, which features robotic technology for the delivery of medical equipment. The project is part of a $900 million capital improvement plan that included construction of a new clinical pavilion on the Brady Green campus.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dedicated the $245 million Marsico Hall in March of 2014. The nine-story, 340,000-sf biomedical imaging facility will support basic and translational research in oncology, nanomedicine, microbiology, immunology, and pharmaceutical engineering. Marisco Hall houses a hybrid MRI/PET whole body scanner, a 7 Tesla MRI whole body scanner, and a cyclotron.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is planning to build a new research facility in the Schuylkill district. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli and Cooper Robertson & Partners, the first phase of the project will include a tower up to 24 stories high providing dry labs, offices, and clinical research space. The facility will include a parking garage and a pedestrian bridge.
The University of California, San Diego dedicated the $113 million Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility in March of 2014 in La Jolla, Calif. Designed by ZGF Architects, the 196,000-sf building provides wet bench laboratories, open lab space, lab support, offices, conference rooms, and an interaction atrium. A basement level accommodates core labs and mechanical systems.
