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Master Plans

Harvard University Creates Enterprise Research Campus and SEAS Complex

Published 12/21/2017

Harvard University is planning to develop the 900,000-sf Enterprise Research Campus in the Allston district of Boston. The 36-acre project will provide teaching, research, and residential facilities in a mixed-use setting that will include business incubators, space for private companies and nonprofits, and public green areas. The first phase of development will create 400,000 sf of office and lab space, 250,000 sf of rental housing, and 250,000 sf of conference and hotel space on a 14-acre site. 

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University of Notre Dame Opens Campus Crossroads

Published 12/20/2017

The University of Notre Dame opened Campus Crossroads in fall of 2017 in Notre Dame, Ind. The $400 million project included the construction of three buildings adjacent to Notre Dame Stadium: O’Neill Hall, Corbett Family Hall, and Duncan Student Center. The project provides over 800,000 sf of classrooms, labs, meeting rooms, event venues, and performance spaces designed for integration with game-day activities at the renovated stadium.

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University of California, San Diego Plans Living and Learning Neighborhood

Published 7/31/2017

The University of California, San Diego will begin construction in summer of 2018 on the $608 million Living and Learning Neighborhood at North Torrey Pines in San Diego. The design-build project team includes HKS as lead architect and architect of record, working in collaboration with Clark Construction, associate design firm Safdie Rabines Architects, and landscape architect OJB.

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Survey: University Planning, Design, and Construction

Published 5/17/2017

College and University directives targeting student life, engagement, knowledge transfer, discovery, and resource utilization are transforming capital project priorities and initiatives, space plans, and campus planning decisions on all types of buildings and space.  We’d like your opinion on the specific facility and campus initiatives that your institution (or your clients) will be investing in. We'll compile the survey results and return them to you so you can compare your priorities with the top issues that others are focusing on.

University professionals click here to begin the survey. 

Consultants, service providers, and product vendors click here to begin the survey. 

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Planning Strategies for STEM Facility Construction and Renovation

Published 7/6/2016

Colleges and universities across the US are struggling to provide necessary STEM-focused learning and research environments in facilities that were constructed decades before an acronym was created to unify the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. Institutions are addressing this concern by creating comprehensive, vision-driven plans to identify the facility renovation, construction, and repurposing required to meet their objectives.

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Ford Initiates Comprehensive Campus Redevelopment Project

Published 4/22/2016

Ford Motor Company will begin construction in May of 2016 on a comprehensive redevelopment of its real estate portfolio in Dearborn, Mich. The project will include construction of a 700,000-sf design facility as well as the expansion and renovation of Ford's existing headquarters campus. Designed by SmithGroupJJR to promote collaboration and interaction, the updated buildings will feature open workspaces with unassigned seating.

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Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital Expands and Renovates New Brunswick Campus

Published 4/9/2016

Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital will begin construction in summer of 2016 on a 100,000-sf project in New Brunswick. Two new facilities totaling 50,000 sf will be constructed and 50,000 sf in the existing hospital will undergo renovation. The expansion will allow more space for emergency and intensive care as well as accommodating preoperative services. Completion is expected by summer of 2018. The project is part of a master facilities plan to strategically increase capacity on the academic medical center campus.

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Renovation/Utilization Strategies for Program Growth and Productive Collaboration

Published 9/2/2015

A new master space plan for the University of Texas at Austin’s College of Natural Sciences leverages program adjacencies and shared infrastructure to improve collaborative interdisciplinary research while maximizing space use. This “soft growth” renovation approach allows the college to increase capacity and improve efficiency without demolishing or adding new buildings.

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Creating an Excel-Based Strategic Facilities Plan

Published 7/22/2015

While a traditional space planning document is often outdated as soon as it’s finished, Stanford University’s School of Medicine created its strategic facilities plan as a living document that in minutes can show the impact of even the slightest change in space usage, and can be constantly updated and changed. The medical school spent a year compiling faculty and space needs data into an Excel spreadsheet, and has found the effort well worth the payoffs.

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Creating a Master Plan: The Product Is Only as Good as the Process

Published 7/8/2015

The organizational structure of a master planning effort can be just as critical as the recommendations the plan ultimately presents. That was a driving principle behind the master plan formulated by the University of Chicago Medical Center in the fall of 2012, as it prepared for a major consolidation and strategic growth in 6 million sf of buildings, including the new 1.2 million-sf Center for Care & Discovery (CCD) clinical facility.

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Healthcare Reform and Changing Delivery Models Drive New Approach to Space Planning

Published 4/22/2015

Boston Medical Center (BMC) is responding to the changing healthcare climate with a new facilities master plan that will redesign clinical campus space and shrink total square footage in a way that reduces capital and operating expenses while improving efficiency. The plan includes a $300 million construction and renovation project that will consolidate the hospital’s two existing campuses while maintaining the same level of services. It also provides flexibility to add 1.2 million sf of space in the future, as needs arise.

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Wellesley’s Multiple-Architect Approach to Campus Renewal Accelerates Implementation

Published 3/11/2015

Just one year after Wellesley College trustees approved a long-term campus renewal plan, the college had three projects in construction and six in design. In all, some $137 million worth of work, roughly 25 percent of the total plan, is currently underway, thanks to Wellesley’s bold approach: At once sweeping and granular, the process departed from traditional master planning by employing multiple architecture firms and incorporating up front many activities typically not seen months or even years into the design workstream.

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UTMB Builds Hard Data into Framework for Capital Investment Decision-Making

Published 2/11/2015

The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) has crafted a decision-making framework based on objective standards to identify and pursue the highest priorities in a massive building boom that has roughly 95 projects valued from $10,000 to $450 million currently under construction. While a large part of that activity stems from the university’s long-range master plan, a significant portion was necessitated by the devastation of Hurricane Ike, which took 1.2 million sf of the medical school’s Galveston campus out of service in 2008. 

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