The University of Mount Union has created an innovative plan to safely resume instructional and residential operations in fall of 2020 in Alliance, Ohio. As well as making modifications to all areas of campus including classrooms, housing, dining areas, and group meeting spaces, the university will implement the Social Distancing Learning Model which includes both face-to-face and remote instruction.
Genomic Partnership Wales is planning to construct a research facility in Cardiff in the United Kingdom to accelerate the development of pharmaceutical therapies. Created by a consortium of government, academic, and medical partners, the project involves the redevelopment of an existing two-story building to provide leading-edge genetics labs, seminar rooms, treatment suites, offices, freezer rooms, and support. The facility will include CL2 biocontainment research suites to ensure compliance with the UK's HBN 15 regulations for pathology services.
Catalent is rapidly scaling up its manufacturing capacity in Bloomington to enable production of a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine candidate that is currently being by developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. The collaboration involves joint investment from Catalent and Janssen to enable large-scale commercial manufacturing by January of 2021, with segregated cGMP production lines operating 24/7 to create approximately a billion doses.
Washington State University Tri-Cities is constructing the $30 million Academic Confluence Building in Richland. Designed by ZGF Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 40,000-sf facility will feature state-of-the-art teaching labs for programs in physics, biology, chemistry, geology, engineering, and anatomy and physiology.
The University of California, San Diego is planning to break ground in late 2020 on the Future College Living and Learning Neighborhood in La Jolla, Calif. Designed by HKS Architects and EYRC, the five-building, 900,000-sf complex will provide general-use classrooms, a 480-seat auditorium, a conference center, administrative offices, dining and retail amenities, and residential accommodation for approximately 2,000 undergraduate students.
Gensler has published the results of its U.S. Work from Home Survey. The study explored the current experience of working from home during the pandemic and how this is influencing people’s expectations for the future workplace. The survey was conducted to help provide greater insight into the work-from-home experience and how the workplace will be designed in the post-COVID world. As a result, Gensler is building a better understanding of how to address pre-pandemic workplace issues, including the need for more space, less desk sharing, and more autonomy.
The University of Montana is planning to construct a new home for the W.A. Franke College of Forestry and Conservation in Missoula. Designed by HDR as a living laboratory for research and teaching, the 75,000-sf building will collocate facilities currently dispersed across campus. The collaborative structure will provide wet and dry labs, active learning spaces, a lecture hall, faculty and graduate student offices, and a rooftop greenhouse.
American University is constructing the $90 million Hall of Science in Washington, D.C. Designed to promote innovation and collaboration, the 125,000-sf building will provide shared research areas where students and faculty can participate in joint projects with scientists from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The US Navy broke ground in May of 2020 on the $23 million Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory in Port Hueneme, Calif. Located at Naval Base Ventura County's Point Mugu sea range, the 18,500-sf facility will allow the Naval Surface Warfare Center to provide accelerated delivery of laser lethality to warfighters at sea.
Envision a highly adaptable, flexible, and sustainable research building, with maximized lab square footage and a thriving, collaborative, and cross-disciplinary environment. Arizona State University attained this vision of a workhorse facility through a first-time building delivery partnership. Both the vision and its realization focus on answering one question: How much research space can we get? “Through the lens of a ‘space manager,’ I’m always trying to get the highest and best use of space out of the university’s available square footage,” explains Erik Halle, senior director of Research Facilities and Infrastructure at Arizona State. “With Biodesign C, we wanted to see how far we could push that.”
Montana State University Billings is renovating and expanding an existing structure to create the 80,000-sf Yellowstone Science and Allied Health Building. Designed by Dowling Studio Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the $15 million project includes the construction of a three-story, 30,000-sf addition that will provide 16 teaching labs, 11 research labs, classrooms, study spaces, and a shared equipment core.
Colorado State University broke ground in May of 2020 on the $60 million Vida building in Denver. The 114,000-sf facility represents the first phase of construction at CSU's $200 million Spur campus at the National Western Center. The 250-acre site is being redeveloped to create a vibrant hub for the exploration of global issues including human and animal health, water quality, and sustainable food systems.
The London School of Economics and Political Science is constructing the £100 million Paul Marshall Building in the United Kingdom. Designed by Grafton Architects, the 183,000-sf building will house the Marshall Institute for Philanthropy and Social Entrepreneurship as well as instructional spaces, research centers, arts rehearsal facilities, sports and fitness amenities, and departmental offices. Featuring an expansive ground-floor interaction commons, the 10-story structure will include two basement levels and a split-level rooftop terrace.
Oklahoma State University and the Cherokee Nation are building the College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tahlequah, Okla. The 84,000-sf facility will be the first tribally affiliated medical school in the United States and will act as an additional campus for OSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa.
The University of Maine began construction in May of 2020 on the $78 million Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center in Orono. Designed by Ellenzweig and WBRC Architects/Engineers to promote experiential learning, the 108,000-sf facility will feature hands-on teaching labs for programs in mechanical and biomedical engineering. The three-story multidisciplinary building will also offer instructional spaces, capstone project rooms, a collaboration commons, conference rooms, informal meeting areas, and offices for faculty and staff.
