Healthcare: Medical School

The University of Waikato broke ground in December of 2025 on the New Zealand Graduate School of Medicine at the heart of its Hamilton campus. Designed by Chow:Hill Architects, the 59,202-sf facility will initially accommodate 120 students per year with the capacity to expand to cohorts of 160 in the future. The NZD 230 million (USD 132.2 million) building will feature a variety of purpose-built teaching environments to enable the delivery of an innovative pedagogy that emphasizes hands-on experience and technology-rich educational modalities.

The University of Georgia is constructing an education and research facility in Athens as the primary teaching hub for its School of Medicine. Designed by Flad Architects, the 93,000-sf building will dedicate nearly 25,000 sf to open wet labs for biomedical discovery and will feature active-learning classrooms for large and small groups, simulation suites with clinical skills labs, gross anatomy labs, and standardized patient rooms.

The University of New South Wales Sydney opened the Health Translation Hub in November of 2025 in Australia. Developed by Plenary Group, the AUD 600 million (USD 396.8 million) facility drives impactful medical discoveries to revolutionize patient care. Students at the clinical school benefit from an interdisciplinary ecosystem that directly connects future health professionals, researchers, and educators with industry partners and clinicians to foster knowledge exchange and immersive learning.

Arizona State University is planning to construct an innovation and education hub that will act as the headquarters for ASU Health in Phoenix. Designed by CO Architects and DFDG Architecture to drive multidisciplinary discovery, the 200,000-sf facility will house the School of Medicine and Advanced Medical Engineering and the School of Technology for Public Health.

The University of Kentucky is constructing the $430 million Michael D. Rankin MD Health Education Building in Lexington to enhance community wellbeing by addressing provider shortages throughout the state. Expanding the university’s training capacity by up to 1,200 students, the 509,000-sf facility will strategically colocates programs in medicine, public health, nursing, and health sciences, as well as housing the Center for Interprofessional and Community Health Education.

The Alice L. Walton School of Medicine opened a 154,000-sf hub in July of 2025 to enable an innovative, holistic curriculum and train future generations of providers in Arkansas and beyond. Designed by Polk Stanley Wilcox to reflect changing paradigms in medical education in function and form, the four-story structure features leading-edge educational environments including simulation centers, a maker space, and a 3,010-sf anatomy resource center.

Indiana University opened the $230 million Medical Education and Research Building (MERB) in June of 2025 in Indianapolis. Representing the largest construction project in the history of the School of Medicine, the 11-story, 326,200-gsf complex was designed by Perkins&Will and Browning Day as a dynamic hub for instruction, training, and discovery.

The University of Utah and University of Utah Health broke ground in June of 2025 on a dynamic medical destination in West Valley. Designed by MHTN Architects and CannonDesign, the $855 million project includes the construction of Eccles Hospital and the Eccles Health Campus. The 800,000-sf complex will expand access to world-class care, create new employment opportunities, and drive economic growth throughout the region.

Wexford Science & Technology opened a visionary innovation district called The Pearl in Charlotte in June of 2025. Created as a public-private partnership with Advocate Health, Atrium Health, and Ventas, the mixed-use development strategically collocates world-class facilities for medical instruction and training with research environments for leading health technology companies.  

The University of New England opened the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences in June of 2025 in Portland, Maine. This dynamic new home for the College of Osteopathic Medicine was designed by SMRT Architects & Engineers to equip future doctors and health professionals with the vital skills to collaboratively deliver team-based care.

Though universities may update master plans every five or 10 years, many find planning works best when it is continual and flexible to accommodate program and leadership changes. A number of projects at the University of North Texas Health Science Center (HSC) in Fort Worth demonstrate the need to assess existing spaces and develop plans for growth and flexibility, as well as the benefits of building long-term relationships with architects and other vendors.

The Medical University of South Carolina is constructing a $175 million facility for the College of Medicine in Charleston. Designed by SLAM in collaboration with Liollio Architecture, the 186,000-sf building will accelerate progress and innovation in medicine, education, and research. The structure will offer active learning environments including a terraced classroom and a theater, as well as offices for the dean and other faculty and staff. Study spaces will be complemented by meeting, event, and wellness venues.

Ohio University began construction in January of 2025 on the $75 million Heritage Translational Research Center (HTRC) in Athens. Designed by Perkins&Will and DesignGroup, the 80,000-sf facility will consolidate laboratories and operations currently dispersed across campus, creating a collaborative ecosystem for clinical innovation. The four-story structure will provide bench space for translational biomedical research, as well as labs and support spaces for population health and clinical research.

The University of South Carolina is planning to begin construction in 2025 on the School of Medicine Columbia. Serving as the centerpiece of a $300 million campus, the 300,000-sf facility will feature active learning classrooms, extensive medical simulation spaces, interdisciplinary laboratories, and a health science library. An adjoining biomedical research wing will advance the creation of novel therapies and treatments, with a central landscaped courtyard offering settings for informal exchange.