Science programs face the same pressures everywhere—a need for tech-enabled classrooms, demand for doing more with less space, emphasis on flexible research space, and practical considerations pushing departments to share resources and work together. At tiny Ursinus College in Pennsylvania, a new science building is meeting these challenges by physically connecting departments and expanding non-program spaces.
Vanguard University opened the $24 million Waugh Student Center in April of 2020 in Costa Mesa, Calif. Designed by HPI Architecture, the two-story, 42,687-gsf project includes a 35,000-sf structure with a 7,500-sf exterior deck for studying, dining, and socializing. The welcoming campus hub houses a 3,300-sf food service area, an 8,000-sf dining commons, a 3,000-sf fitness center, and a student lounge with a fireplace.
The University of Nevada, Reno is renovating the Leifson Physics and Chemistry Buildings to provide leading-edge research labs, classrooms, collaboration rooms, conference areas, and office environments. Designed by Van Woert Bigotti Architects, the $23 million project will optimize utilization in the two structures, which were built in 1967, to provide additional programmatic space including 839 asf for physics and 1,779 asf for chemistry.
The University of Glasgow is planning to construct an £86 million facility for the Adam Smith Business School and the university's postgraduate-taught community (PGT) in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hassell to promote cross-pollination with industry and government stakeholders, the 125,000-sf building will be arranged in three interconnected stacks for teaching, research, and collaboration.
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution began construction in March of 2020 on a 50,000-sf innovation hub in Falmouth, Mass. Designed by DSK, the three-story building will provide offices, labs, and meeting spaces for new research programs on above-water and underwater autonomous vehicle and sensor technologies (AVAST). Supporting WHOI's Strategic Facility Assessment, the project will enable staff to be relocated from existing waterfront facilities in order to collocate investigators and enhance research synergies.
New York University is renovating two adjacent historic structures on its Greenwich Village campus to create a new home for the School of Global Public Health. Designed by Kliment Halsband Architects, the collaborative 147,000-sf facility will accommodate laboratories for multiple research groups. Flexible open workstations and glass-walled offices will provide optimal access to natural light and views.
Miami University is planning to construct a $96 million health sciences building in Oxford, Ohio. Representing the first new academic structure to be built on the campus in more than a decade, the 165,000-sf facility will create synergies between programs in nursing and allied health professions. The project will include the renovation of Harris Hall, which will temporarily house the school’s health services center during construction. Completion is expected by summer of 2023.
Pacific Northwest National Lab began construction in March of 2020 on a $90 million energy sciences research building in Richland, Wash. Designed by Kirksey Architecture, the collaborative 140,000-sf facility will enable academic, industry, and government investigators to create new energy and transportation technologies. Supporting fundamental research in chemistry, materials science, and computing, the building will include advanced instrumentation suites housing next-generation imaging and microscopy devices.
The University of Lincoln broke ground in March of 2020 on the Centre of Excellence in Agri-Food Technology in the United Kingdom. Supporting the development of new technologies and resources for the region's agribusiness sector, the building will provide microbiology and chemistry labs, a sophisticated test kitchen and sensory suite, seminar rooms, and collaboration spaces. Willmott Dixon was awarded the £7 million construction contract for the innovation center, which will accommodate a community of leading industrial scientists and their support teams.
The University of Arkansas is planning to build the $26.5 million Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation in Fayetteville. Designed by Grafton Architects in collaboration with Modus Studio, the project will provide the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design with approximately 50,000 sf of applied research and education space to accelerate the creation of innovative timber and wood construction modalities.
The University of South Florida broke ground on a $42 million innovation center in Tampa in March of 2020. Located in the USF Research Park, the 120,000-sf facility will provide researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry partners with leasable laboratory, office, and meeting facilities. Designed by Gensler, the three-story building will act as a catalyst for regional economic growth through the creation and commercialization of new technologies.
Westminster College is engaged in a $11.2 million expansion of the Hoyt Science Center in New Wilmington, Pa. Designed by BHDP Architecture, the 27,000-sf addition will provide six teaching labs, three research labs, ten faculty offices, and student collaboration spaces. The three-story wing will house the school's growing STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as the Center for the Environment. Ground was broken on the project in September of 2019 and occupancy is expected by summer of 2021.
The United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) is building a £22 million nuclear fusion research facility in Rotherham. Supporting the creation of advanced joining materials and components, the 26,900-sf structure will feature specialized testing suites that simulate the conditions inside a fusion reactor. The center is being constructed in the Advanced Manufacturing Park (AMP) to promote collaboration with the adjacent Nuclear Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre and the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre.
The University of Technology Sydney is constructing the Science Research Building in New South Wales, Australia. Designed by H2o Architects, the integrated seven-story facility will provide flexible research labs for the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Enabling collaborative discovery and development with industry partners, the interdisciplinary structure will feature specialized spaces for advanced analytics, chemical synthesis, phenomics, and translational medicine.
Georgia State University is planning to construct an $84 million research building in Atlanta for the study of global infectious diseases. Designed by HOK, the 84,100-sf biocontainment facility will provide BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs, a vivarium, collaborative open research areas, offices, and support space. A design-bid-build contractor is being sought for the project, which has an estimated construction cost of $66 million. The structure represents the third phase of development at the university's Science Park and is slated for completion in 2022.
