The Milwaukee School of Engineering broke ground on the Robert D. Kern Engineering Innovation Center in July of 2025 to catalyze interdisciplinary education and collaboration. Designed by RAMLOW/STEIN Architecture + Interiors, the $75.5 million facility will offer flexible labs, modern classrooms, robotics workshops, an outdoor sustainability lab, and public spaces for interactive learning.
Designing and building labs in the unlikely and constrained location of the prestigious Pacific Design Center (PDC) with Hollywood as a backdrop is a daunting task, requiring adherence to quality expectations, facilities management guidelines in a non-research environment, separation from existing high-end tenants, and compliance with infrastructure requirements. Cedars-Sinai, one of the largest nonprofit medical centers in the U.S., accepted the challenge after deciding to expand its research portfolio. Growing beyond its limited campus is necessary to accommodate the rapid growth of its research facilities and to aid in recruiting top scientists by providing innovative facilities with optimum resources. Hospital officials looked a half mile from their campus to the PDC, a designated cultural resource building complex designed by Cesar Pelli in the 1970s. Known in the 1980s and 1990s as a vibrant hub of premier art, design, and architectural showrooms, many of the tenants now have online shops rather than physical space in the cluster of buildings, leaving vacancies available for lease and an opportunity for Cedars-Sinai’s growth.
Savannah River National Laboratory opened the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) in August of 2025 on the campus of the University of South Carolina Aiken.
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and Cambridgeshire University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are planning to construct a £671 million ($910.4 million) children’s hospital in association with the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hawkins\Brown and White Arkitekter, the 373,507-sf facility will offer 187 beds in total, with 108 for inpatient use, 16 dedicated to pediatric care, and 42 day-case beds.
The University of Utah opened the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building in July of 2025 in Salt Lake City to drive advances in research, education, and commercial innovation. Designed by EDA, the 100,000-sf facility is part of the $97 million Applied Science Project, which also encompasses a 40,700-sf renovation of the historic William Stewart Building. The integrated complex features wet and dry labs where teams of scientists will address the country’s most urgent issues, from energy and climate change to air quality and water management.
The University of Illinois at Chicago opened the $118 million Computer Design Research and Learning Center in July 2025. Designed by LMN Architects and Booth Hansen as an expanded and consolidated home for the Department of Computer Science, the 135,000-sf facility will drive groundbreaking research and provide world-class training opportunities for graduates entering high-tech and engineering careers.
Delta Electronics is planning to construct a regional headquarters in Hoofdorp in the Netherlands as part of a strategic expansion into Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA). Located at the Park 20|20 business campus, the €42.26m ($48.72m) building will add 100,100 sf of modern office space for over 350 employees engaged in R&D, business development, and other departments.
The University of California, Berkeley is planning to begin construction in spring of 2026 on a seven-story facility for the Innovative Genomics Institute and Bakar Labs. Designed by DGA and Weiss/Manfredi, the development will expand research capabilities in genomics engineering with CRISPR technologies and provide critical infrastructure for life science companies scaling their operations.
Beacon Capital Partners and Trammell Crow Company completed Hyde Park Labs in July of 2025 in Chicago. The $225 million project was designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, Moody Nolan, and Interactive Design Architects to offer 300,000 rsf of Class A lab and office space spread over nine floors. With 4,200 sf of chemical storage space and vivarium access, the 13-story facility includes an executive boardroom, four floors of above- and below-ground parking, and street-level retail.
The design and planning of medical and health sciences education facilities serve as both the precursor and the wave of the future, with facilities that are not only mixed-use, but truly hybridized and integrated. Formerly siloed programs for nursing, medical, surgical, and pharmaceutical training reap exponential benefits from shared technology, resources, and spaces that enable multiple institutions and stakeholders to offer more robust programs. The hybrid building model mirrors a coevolving approach to healthcare, where teamwork is central, and training with the latest technologies is key. By accommodating the functions of multiple disciplines, forward-thinking institutions can both leverage available space and focus on creating environments for the interpersonal collaboration that underpins the experience of 21st-century health practitioners, as well as that of their patients.
Fermi America is partnering with the Texas Tech University System to establish the Advanced Energy and Intelligence Campus in Amarillo. Also known as the HyperGrid, the visionary development will provide crucial infrastructure to meet the growing demands of artificial intelligence, data innovation, and sustainable energy. The 5,769-acre site will accommodate 18 million sf of data center space and will eventually generate up to 11 gigawatts of IT capacity.
The University of Virginia is constructing the $100 million Karsh Institute of Democracy in Charlottesville to foster the exploration and enhancement of democratic culture, laws, and institutions. Designed by Höweler+Yoon Architecture and Hanbury, this vibrant ecosystem of spaces will bring faculty, students, staff, and public figures together to accelerate the translation of research and scholarship into actionable solutions.
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville is constructing the $108 million Student Success Center at the heart of campus to catalyze academic and social engagement. Designed by HASTINGS Architecture and Lord Aeck Sargent, this vibrant hub will collocate key resources in a fully accessible and inclusive environment. The 116,000-sf structure will stand five stories high with a basement level, allowing for passage underneath and through the facility to promote connectivity with Hodges Library, Hess Hall, and the Pedestrian Mall.
The University of Sydney celebrated the beginning of construction on the AU$780 million Sydney Biomedical Accelerator in May of 2025. Created in partnership with the Government of New South Wales and Sydney Local Health District, the 387,500-sf structure will forge a vital link between the Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and the university's Camperdown campus.
Virginia Commonwealth University is planning to construct a new School of Dentistry to advance dental education and improve access to care throughout the state and beyond. Designed by Kahler Slater in collaboration with Hanbury, the 312,000-sf facility will collocate sophisticated teaching labs with environments for clinical instruction and specialized patient treatment in a landmark setting.
