Collaboration

The University of Kansas is engaged in a $4 million renovation project to create the National Security Laboratory in Lawrence. Sited on the basement level of the Bioscience and Technology Business Center on the West Campus, the 7,000-sf facility will support collaborative research with the Department of Defense and other government agencies on radar, remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles, signal processing, and sensors. The secure laboratory will accommodate up to 40 employees and is expected to open in spring of 2018. 

The University of Texas at San Antonio broke ground on the $95 million Science and Engineering Building in June of 2017. Designed by TreanorHL and Alamo Architects to promote interaction and collaboration, the multidisciplinary facility will provide research labs, teaching labs, active learning classrooms, and faculty offices to support programs in chemistry, biology, chemical engineering, and neurology.

Bowie State University opened the $102 million Center for Natural Sciences, Mathematics and Nursing in June of 2017 in Bowie, Md. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 149,000-sf facility provides a clinical simulation center, undergraduate teaching labs, a plant sciences greenhouse, and a three-story elliptical multipurpose space with 25,000 sf of dynamic window glazing.

The University of Tennessee opened the 268,000-sf Strong Hall Science Laboratory in Knoxville in May of 2017. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative and Lewis Group Architects, the $114 million renovation project created a flexible, interdisciplinary facility to house the departments of anthropology and earth and planetary sciences, as well as providing teaching and research space for the departments of biology and chemistry.

The University of Southern California completed construction in June of 2017 on the $185 million Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience in Los Angeles. The 190,000-sf translational research facility offers collaborative labs and offices for 30 principal investigators, as well as housing a 7,200-sf microscopy imaging suite and a 10,000-sf nanofabrication cleanroom offering Class 100 and 1,000 capabilities.

Nebraska Medicine opened the $323 million Fred & Pamela Buffett Cancer Center in June of 2017 in Omaha. Located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the 615,000-sf translational facility is designed to promote collaboration between physicians and researchers in the delivery of advanced patient care. The project is comprised of two towers, a 10-story, 98-lab research facility and an eight-story, 108-bed inpatient treatment center.

Golden West College broke ground in May of 2017 on the 120,561-sf Mathematics and Science Building in Huntington Beach, Calif. Designed by HMC Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the three-story facility will support a pedagogical model of exploratory learning with 18 wet and dry science labs, interactive classrooms, computer labs, faculty offices, collaboration areas, and a STEM center.

Utah State University is constructing the $28 million Center for Clinical Excellence in Logan. Designed by Jacoby Architects, the 105,000-sf facility will serve as a comprehensive human services center, integrating various clinics and services in an interdisciplinary environment. Comprised of two wings connected by transparent bridges, the four-story project will accommodate clinical training for students in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services.

Midwestern State University will begin construction in fall of 2017 on a $40 million facility for the Gunn College of Health Sciences and Human Services in Wichita Falls, Texas. Designed by Randall Scott and Associates, the four-story, 85,000-sf building will feature an 80-student round classroom, a learning stair, a collaborative student lounge, and a full-height atrium. The center will provide simulation training suites, classrooms, and teaching labs for programs including nursing, dental hygiene, radiologic sciences, respiratory care, and social work.

Franklin College broke ground in May of 2017 on a $17 million renovation and expansion of its science center in Franklin, Ind. Designed by BSA LifeStructures, the project will transform the existing 30,000-sf structure into a 51,000-sf building featuring flexible learning spaces that combine laboratory and lecture functions. Offering 16,000 sf of lab space, the completed center will provide nine collaborative learning spaces, 12 teaching labs, three research labs, multi-use classrooms, a teleconferencing suite, and student project areas.

Intense pressure to attract the smartest students and prepare them for tomorrow’s workforce is prompting engineering schools to provide a broad education with hands-on learning, an interdisciplinary curriculum, collaborative activities, and partnerships with local industries. The broader curriculum goes beyond the traditional engineering principles and practices by providing maker spaces to stimulate students’ creativity, critical-thinking ability, and problem-solving skills.

 The University of Florida opened the $67 million Joseph Hernandez Hall in Gainesville in April of 2017. Designed by Stantec to accommodate programs in chemistry and chemical biology, the five-story, 111,500-sf facility features a general chemistry lab capable of accommodating 256 students at one time, as well as graduate and faculty research labs, interactive undergraduate teaching labs, classrooms, offices, conference rooms, and core research facilities.

Boston University broke ground in May of 2015 on the $150 million Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering (CILSE). Designed by Payette, the nine-story, 170,000-sf facility will support interdisciplinary research on synthetic biology, systems neuroscience, cognitive neuroimaging, and biological design. The project will exceed Boston University’s base energy efficiency code by 30 percent and will have building systems and utilities located on the second and third floors to ensure continuing operations in the event of a flood.

The Pirbright Institute is planning to build the £48 million High Containment Large Animal Facility in Pirbright in the United Kingdom. Designed by NBBJ, the project will provide advanced biocontainment labs and vivarium space to support collaborative research on infectious diseases including foot-and-mouth disease, avian influenza, and African swine fever. 

Saint Mary's University of Minnesota opened the $20 million Science and Learning Center in May of 2017 in Winona, Minn. Designed and built by Wight & Company of Chicago, the three-story, 50,000-sf teaching and research facility provides technology-rich labs and classrooms for interactive learning. Featuring a 120-seat tiered auditorium and a three-story atrium, the center includes a cell culture suite, an anatomy and physiology lab, and an organic chemistry lab with 10 glass fume hoods for optimal visibility.