Modernization

Children's National Health System broke ground in late November of 2018 on the Research and Innovation Campus in Washington. The project includes the renovation of four existing buildings located on 12 acres on the former Walter Reed Medical Center Campus. A 333,000-sf research and innovation facility will provide 158,000 sf of laboratory space for the study of pediatric genomics and precision medicine. The project will include a business incubator and 175,000 of shell space to accommodate future growth. Completion is expected in 2020.

The nation’s academic biomedical research facilities are largely unprepared for natural and man-made disasters that could damage buildings, equipment, IT systems, and materials, and ultimately jeopardize research and scientific careers. A recently released study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine calls for institutions and scientists to focus on risk assessment and resilience planning to secure their capital and research investments. In order to do that successfully, institutions need to expand their emergency response and recovery plans and think beyond current building codes, which focus on the life safety needs of the occupants but have yet to account for the significant risks posed to their research programs.

The University of Illinois broke ground in October of 2018 on a $41 million renovation and expansion of the Mechanical Engineering Building in Urbana. The project includes construction of a five-story, 25,000-sf addition and extensive renovations of the existing 60,000-sf structure. The completed facility will offer active-learning classrooms, integrated teaching and project labs, a 3,000-sf student design center, meeting and event areas, a café, and 7,000 sf of maker space. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2021. 

Phoenix College celebrated the opening of its renovated physical sciences building in November of 2018. Designed by Holly Street Studio with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the $19.5 million project transformed the existing Building C into a 59,000-sf instructional center for programs in chemistry, engineering, physics, geology, geography, astronomy, and sustainability.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison broke ground in September of 2018 on a $133 million project to accommodate the department of Chemistry. A nine-story tower will be added to the Daniels Chemistry Building, providing three floors of undergraduate teaching labs, one floor of research labs, two large lecture halls, a flexible active learning studio, an atrium, an information commons, conference rooms, offices, and classrooms. Six undergraduate teaching labs in the Daniels Building will be renovated, and new classrooms, offices, and study areas will be created.

Rubius Therapeutics began construction in October of 2018 on a $155 million pharmaceutical manufacturing plant in Smithfield, R.I. The project includes renovation of an existing 135,000-sf building to create a leading-edge facility for the manufacture of the company's Red Cell Therapeutics product line which includes treatments for cancer and other diseases. The structure, which was formerly owned and occupied by Alexion, will accommodate 160 new employees. 

The University of Toronto spent $153 million (USD) to rehabilitate 47 percent of its total research space, a move that is favored by the Canadian government as a viable alternative to building new facilities. It is estimated that constructing new buildings to replace this amount of the university’s aging research facilities would have cost approximately $494 million.

Dow Chemical Company Renovates Electronics Materials Lab

Northern Kentucky University opened the $105 million Health Innovation Center in Highland Heights in September of 2018. Designed by CO Architects and GBBN Architects, the 108,179-sf interdisciplinary facility provides the College of Health Professions with advanced classrooms, laboratories, and offices. The building houses the College of Health Professions, the Institute for Health Innovation, the Institute for Student Research and Creative Activity, and the two-story St. Elizabeth Simulation Center.

At the University of Minnesota, a renovation/construction project to add science space required detailed integration with the campus district plan, as well as preservation of historic features. The result was enhanced physical connectivity on campus, a careful blending of older and new construction, and improved energy performance. Tate Hall is one of 260 structures on the main Twin Cities campus, which is so large that planners have divided it into districts for planning purposes. The urban campus straddles the Mississippi River, and Tate, a horseshoe-shaped building first constructed in 1926, sat largely empty, as most of the physics department had recently moved to a new research building.

Pennsylvania State University is planning a $17.3 million renovation and expansion of Pattee Library in University Park. The project includes the infill of an existing courtyard to provide a two-story enclosed atrium with a connecting stair, with administrative offices for the Library Learning Services and three Digital Scholarship and Data Services units located on upper floors.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham opened the School of Nursing in September of 2018. Designed by Payette in collaboration with Williams Blackstock Architects, the $32 million project included renovation of an existing structure and construction of a 72,000-sf addition to provide leading-edge classrooms, research labs, offices, and collaboration spaces. The Nursing Competency Suite accommodates simulation training and testing activities, and the Innovation Collaboratory offers interactive workstations for group learning and discovery.

Yale University is planning to renovate and expand the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, Conn. Designed by Centerbrook Architects and Planners, the project will increase exhibition space by over 50 percent, as well as providing new labs and classrooms for collections-based programs. A four-story addition featuring fritted glass and bronzed aluminum framing will be constructed, creating a connection to the adjacent Environmental Science Center.

Determining whether to build a new STEM facility or to renovate an existing building requires weighing multiple factors: budget, project cost and duration, whether the current building has “good bones,” availability of swing space, how the building fits into a strategic plan, and historic and cultural considerations, not to mention project-specific items like the need for a vivarium or maker space or even the requirement to work around a historic Cherokee earthen mound.

The University of Edinburgh is initiating a £90 million renovation and expansion of the Darwin Laboratory Building to accommodate the School of Biological Sciences. Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the project will include construction of two new laboratory buildings totaling 46,300 sf and a 21,500-sf hub providing meeting rooms, offices, and a café.