Collaboration

The University of Washington opened the $110 million Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering in February of 2019 in Seattle. Designed by LMN Architects to foster interaction and collaboration, the 135,000-sf facility features a 3,000-sf robotics lab, a 240-seat auditorium, a maker space, a virtual and augmented reality lab, a wet lab, and two 100-seat classrooms. The building also houses a flexible event hall, a café, a student services hub, faculty offices, and an undergraduate commons.

Leeds Beckett University is building the Carnegie Teaching and Research Building in the United Kingdom. The £45 million project was designed by Sheppard Robson to provide an iconic home for the Carnegie School of Sport. The center will offer sophisticated teaching and research facilities including a hypoxic lab, a health and wellbeing studio, enhanced strength and conditioning spaces, changing rooms, and recovery areas. The roof of the building will accommodate a walking track and a covered 60-meter sprinting track for performance training and analysis.

The University of Toronto is designing a nine-story academic hub to support urban research, education, and engagement. Designed by architectsAlliance, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and ERA Architects, the 170,000-gsf multidisciplinary building will provide a permanent home for the School of Cities as well as accommodating programs in history, music, and cultural studies.

Texas Woman's University broke ground in February of 2019 on the $54 million Science and Technology Learning Center in Denton. The 80,000-sf facility will provide graduate and undergraduate research labs for programs in biology, chemistry, biochemistry, psychology, and nutrition and food science. The four-story building will include a microscopy suite, collaboration spaces, conference rooms, faculty offices, and graduate student workspaces. Completion is expected in June of 2020.

Lockheed Martin opened the $50 million Research & Development II facility in Orlando in February of 2019. The six-story, 255,000-sf building offers collaborative offices and laboratories to support engineering, program management, and business operations for the company's Missiles and Fire Control division as well as the Rotary and Mission Systems division. The duration of construction was one year. 

Rosalind Franklin University is building the $50 million Innovation and Research Park in North Chicago, Ill. The four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide leading-edge research labs, business incubator space, meeting rooms, and common areas. The project will promote collaboration among faculty, industry scientists, and biotech entrepreneurs in order to accelerate the discovery and commercialization of new medical treatments and therapeutics.

Trine University is planning an $8.5 million expansion of Fawick Hall to house the School of Computing in Angola, Ind. Designed by Elevatus Architects, the project will accommodate new and existing programs in computer science, information technology, software engineering, cybersecurity, web development, and health informatics. The facility will provide a virtual reality and artificial intelligence lab, flexible classrooms with moveable walls, an active learning lab with a maker space, collaboration areas, faculty offices, and a café.

Ohio University will begin construction in summer of 2019 on a $65 million academic facility for the Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine in Athens. Designed by Perkins+Will and DesignGroup, the three-story, 120,000-sf building will provide flexible and collaborative learning environments to support team-based medical education programs. The project includes construction of a fourth-floor mechanical penthouse and renovation of an adjacent building to house administrative offices.

Bulfinch began construction in January of 2019 on a 270,000-sf lab and office facility in Cambridge, Mass. Located at 400-500 Cambridge Discovery Park, the six-story building comprises two separate base structures that are physically connected on floors three through six. Offering 42,000-sf floorplates of open and efficient Class A facilities, the complex will include a fitness center, a café, and an adjacent 383-car parking garage. Floor-to-ceiling windows will provide abundant natural light with sophisticated building systems ensuring optimal energy efficiency.

Arizona State University is planning to construct a $64 million digital innovation campus in downtown Mesa. Designed by Holly Street Studio and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the five-story, 118,000-sf project will provide galleries, theaters, production studios, fabrication labs, flexible classrooms, and a café.

Louisiana Tech University is constructing the $40 million Integrated Engineering & Science Building in Ruston, La. Featuring flexible classrooms for project-based learning, the three-story, 130,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs, prototyping workshops, study rooms, faculty offices, and a glass atrium with a spiral staircase. Construction began on the project in April of 2016 and occupancy is expected in fall of 2019.

EMD Serono is planning to construct a $70 million R&D facility on its existing campus in Billerica, Mass. Supporting research programs in oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology, the 145,000-sf building will accommodate wet labs, offices, collaboration spaces, and a cafeteria. Designed to attain LEED and WELL certification, the project will provide a healthy and sustainable environment for approximately 400 employees. Completion is expected in 2021. EMD Serono is the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, based in Darmstadt, Germany.

York University opened the $50 million Rob and Cheryl McEwen Graduate Study & Research Building in Toronto in January of 2019. Designed by Baird Sampson Neuert Architects to accommodate programs for the Schulich School of Business, the 67,000-sf facility features one 90-seat and two 60-seat flat floor classrooms, 10 breakout rooms, four seminar rooms, and a three-story atrium with open seating, collaboration areas, and a café.

The University of Colorado broke ground in late January of 2019 on the $176 million Anschutz Health Sciences Building in Aurora. Designed by ZGF Architects and Anderson Mason Dale Architects, the seven-story, 390,00-sf facility will provide computational laboratories, classrooms, mental and behavioral health research clinics, a medical simulation training hub, faculty offices, and space for clinical trials.

Rice University is planning to renovate a former Sears building in Houston to create a 270,000-sf innovation center called The Ion. Providing event spaces, meeting rooms, and business incubation suites, the collaborative facility will support data science research initiatives and the development of new digital technologies. The complex, which will include dining and entertainment amenities, will host public programs including entrepreneurial workshops, networking sessions, training courses, and industry lectures.