Chico State University opened the $98 million building for the College of Behavioral & Social Sciences in February of 2025 in California. Designed by AC Martin, the 94,000-sf structure provides 22 classrooms, five teaching labs, conference and breakout rooms, faculty offices, and a 130-seat tiered lecture hall. The open-plan facility accommodates nine academic departments, strategically collocating resources to maximize space use.
The Medical University of South Carolina is constructing a $175 million facility for the College of Medicine in Charleston. Designed by SLAM in collaboration with Liollio Architecture, the 186,000-sf building will accelerate progress and innovation in medicine, education, and research. The structure will offer active learning environments including a terraced classroom and a theater, as well as offices for the dean and other faculty and staff. Study spaces will be complemented by meeting, event, and wellness venues.
Stanford University opened its new 167,000-gsf Computing and Data Science building in January of 2025 in Palo Alto, Calif. Designed by LMN Architects to drive interdisciplinary research and innovation, the facility houses the Stanford Data Science and Impact Labs initiatives, as well as undergraduate programs in computer science and symbolic systems.
Imperial College London is planning to construct the pioneering Fleming Centre to accelerate groundbreaking research into antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Envisioned as a global beacon for healthcare change, the highly flexible building will bring leading investigators, clinicians, and behavioral experts together with pharmaceutical partners and domestic and international policymakers.
Barnard College is constructing the Roy & Diana Vagelos Science Center in New York to foster excellence in STEM education, innovation, and scholarship. Representing an investment of approximately $240 million, the expansion and renovation will transform the existing Altschul Hall into a modern hub for innovative teaching and research. The 169,000-sf structure will house all of Barnard’s bench sciences, including the departments of biology, chemistry, environmental science, neuroscience and behavior, and physics and astronomy.
Providence College opened the 125,000-sf Ben Mondor Center for Nursing and Health Sciences in January of 2025 in Providence, R.I. Designed by SLAM, the five-story facility provides active learning environments and laboratories for teaching, research, and faculty innovation. On the third level, a 7,000-sf clinical simulation suite replicates an acute care hospital floor. Sophisticated augmented and virtual reality technologies, such as Anatomage Tables, offer unique opportunities for immersive education and discovery.
San Francisco State University celebrated the dedication of the Science and Engineering Innovation Center (SEIC) in January of 2025. Delivered by the design-build team of SmithGroup and DPR Construction, the $169 million facility provides advanced laboratories and leading-edge classrooms for the school's STEM education programs. As the new home for the College of Science & Engineering (CoSE), the 125,000-sf building houses the Department of Chemistry & Biochemistry, the School of Engineering, and the dean’s office.
HITT Contracting broke ground in January of 2025 on the company's new headquarters in Falls Church, Va. Designed by Gensler, the 270,000-sf facility is envisioned as a nationally recognized innovation hub for the advancement of building practices that will shape the future of the industry. The project involves the transformation of an existing office structure, previously a satellite campus operated by Virginia Tech, into a collaborative educational center for the built environment.
Johns Hopkins University is planning to construct a 476,572-sf facility for the Data Science and AI Institute (DSAI) on the Homewood Campus in Baltimore. Designed by ZGF, this global hub for research and discovery will bring together experts in artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science and translation, applied mathematics, and computer science and engineering.
BioMed Realty is constructing a 637,000-sf life sciences facility in Cambridge for Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Designed by CBT Architects, the 16-story structure will provide advanced lab and office environments to accelerate the creation of innovative therapies and vaccines. Featuring flexible spaces to optimize in-person interaction and connection in a hybrid working model, the leased building furthers Takeda’s goal of unifying their Global R&D Center in Kendall Square.
Ohio University began construction in January of 2025 on the $75 million Heritage Translational Research Center (HTRC) in Athens. Designed by Perkins&Will and DesignGroup, the 80,000-sf facility will consolidate laboratories and operations currently dispersed across campus, creating a collaborative ecosystem for clinical innovation. The four-story structure will provide bench space for translational biomedical research, as well as labs and support spaces for population health and clinical research.
Virginia Tech opened the first building on its Innovation Campus in Alexandria in January of 2025. SmithGroup designed the 300,000-gsf facility to provide leading-edge environments for academic and research programs in computer science and engineering, as well as space for the Pamplin College of Business. Featuring specialized laboratories, a drone testing cage, and a two-story maker space, the 11-story development houses 14 classrooms, wellness venues for students and faculty, and the 3,000-sf Boeing Auditorium.
The University of Maryland, Baltimore opened a 250,000-sf innovation center in January of 2024 to drive biomedical advances and accelerate the discovery of new health solutions. Developed and operated by Wexford Science + Technology, 4MLK serves as the gateway to the UM BioPark and will offer leasable space for life science and technology companies.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa will break ground in early 2025 on a major capital improvement project to foster collaboration, engagement, and community on its Honolulu campus. The first phase comprises the construction of the five-story, 77,575-sf Interdisciplinary Learning Facility. On the first two floors, the academic building will feature 16 classrooms of various sizes available for all departments and programs.
The past few decades have brought myriad technological changes to our daily lives, and experts predict the pace of change will only increase—especially in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Much of the talk surrounding AI focuses on automating repetitive processes and analyzing data, which require additional computational power but not necessarily structural modifications. But emerging technologies, including AI and robotics, may require universities and companies to rethink their approach to designing and planning buildings and labs.
