Sustainability

The College of the Desert is constructing a $268 million campus in Palm Springs, Calif. Designed by WRNS Studio, this regional hub for education and workforce training will offer dry labs, maker spaces, AI-enabled environments, and immersive studios. The development’s main facility, The Accelerator, will house programs in digital media and arts, healthcare, and architecture. Technology-driven classrooms will prioritize flexibility to support innovative teaching and learning methodologies.

Loyola University Chicago began construction in March of 2026 on a $250 million facility for the Marcella Niehoff School of Nursing and the College of Arts and Sciences. Located on the Lake Shore Campus in Maywood, Ill., the interdisciplinary structure will offer 150,000 sf of leading-edge space for education, research, and training, as well as an additional basement level spanning 40,000 sf.

The John Innes Centre and The Sainsbury Laboratory are planning a £390 million transformation of their joint campus at the Norwich Research Park in the United Kingdom. Designed by BDP (Building Design Partnership), the Next Generation Infrastructure Programme will deliver a total of 431,000 sf of leading-edge environments for plant science and microbial research. This dynamic complex will accelerate the translation of scientific knowledge into practical solutions by leveraging shared resources, spaces, and networks.

The University of New Mexico is planning to construct the $138 million Humanities and Social Sciences Complex (HSSC) at the heart of its Albuquerque campus. The 80,728-gsf facility was designed by SMPC Architects and Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects + Partners to serve as a central hub for the College of Arts & Sciences.

The University of British Columbia opened the CAD 207.9 million Gateway Health building in Vancouver in February of 2026. Designed by Perkins&Will and Schmidt Hammer Lassen, the 270,550-sf facility showcases a six-story atrium connecting two five-story wings. This interdisciplinary nexus provides advanced teaching labs, flexible classrooms, and four large lecture halls, with interconnecting stairs reaching from the basement to the highest level to encourage physical activity.

CordenPharma Colorado is partnering with BioMed Realty to expand its peptide development capabilities in Boulder with the lease of a 64,000-sf facility in Flatiron Park. Located near the CDMO’s large-scale peptide manufacturing hub, the state-of-the-art building will accommodate process development and analytical services, enabling seamless integration of advanced peptide API (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient) creation from production to commercialization.

Clemson University opened the Advanced Materials Innovation Complex in February of 2026 in Clemson, S.C. The $130 million building is the university's most technologically advanced facility to date and will enable the workforce of the future to gain hands-on experience in next-generation manufacturing processes.

The University of Maryland, Baltimore is constructing a dynamic home for the School of Social Work that will equip the next generation of change-makers to create new solutions for key societal challenges. Designed by Ballinger, the $125 million facility will feature modern learning environments that prioritize openness, transparency, and inclusivity. The 127,400-gsf building will consolidate activities previously dispersed in six separate locations, as well as accommodating the Master of Social Work and Doctor of Philosophy programs. 

Carnegie Mellon University celebrated the opening of the $100 million Robotics Innovation Center (RIC) in late February of 2026. Located at Hazelwood Green, the site of a former steel mill in Pittsburgh, the 150,000-sf facility embodies the evolution of that industrial heritage by uniting programs in robotics, automation, and artificial intelligence under one roof. Perkins Eastman's vision for the three-story structure created flexible high-bay research spaces and R&D venues that can address robotic systems at different scales.

The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center opened University Hospital in February of 2026 in Columbus. Designed by HDR, the $1.9 billion tower will drive high-impact discoveries that translate to improvements in patient care while providing outstanding clinical education to the next generation of healthcare professionals. The 1.9 million-sf development represents the largest single-facility construction project in the university’s history and offers 820 beds in private rooms equipped with sophisticated telehealth technologies.

The University of Miami Health System is transforming cancer care and research in South Florida with the opening of the Kenneth C. Griffin Cancer Research Building. Representing an investment of over $250 million, the state-of-the-art facility was designed by HOK to seamlessly integrate biomedical discovery with world-class patient treatment. The 244,000-sf structure doubles the footprint of the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center and provides the Miller School of Medicine with leading-edge research environments for collaborative team science.

The University of California, Los Angeles is constructing the UCLA Research Park to create an engine of innovation and economic growth for Southern California and beyond. The visionary project is transforming the former Westside Pavilion shopping mall into a dynamic destination where basic scientists join with industry experts to advance discovery and commercialization. Acquired by UCLA in December of 2023, the property encompasses more than 1.3 million gsf on 9.2 acres, with two main buildings spanning a total of 700,000 sf connected by an enclosed pedestrian bridge.

The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s (UAB) Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building (ALGEN) is the product of a down-to-the-concrete renovation that transformed an aging, nondescript health sciences research facility into a modern, light-filled home to seven floors of four different dry lab phenotypes. The building is topped by an executive floor that, for the first time, brings together key leadership of the university’s health system and Heersink School of Medicine (HSOM). Fresh glazing on an expanse stretching over a busy downtown street creates a striking double helix pattern that telegraphs the building’s mission. A newly constructed conference center adjoins the renovated structure.

The University of Toronto is planning to construct the James and Louise Temerty Building on its St. George Campus to provide the Temerty Faculty of Medicine with modern, collaborative environments for discovery and learning. Standing 11 stories high with two basement levels, the 398,000-gsf facility will offer multiple floors of wet and dry laboratories for interdisciplinary research that will be shared with the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Department of Cell & Systems Biology.

UC Davis Health (UCDH) is constructing the 910,000-sf California Tower in Sacramento. Envisioned as a cornerstone for critical care in the region, the $3.7 billion complex will add a 14-story hospital and a five-story pavilion to the existing medical center. The resilient facility will provide approximately 334 private inpatient rooms, 250 of which can seamlessly transition to “pandemic mode” to offer additional infection isolation capabilities through negative air pressure.