The University of Manitoba opened the $44.5 million Smartpark Innovation Hub in Winnipeg in June of 2019. Designed by Cibinel Architecture to foster collaborative partnerships between industry, academia, and government, the 75,000-sf facility provides laboratories, prototyping suites, multimedia training classrooms, conference rooms, a business incubator, and rentable space for companies.
Lowe's Companies is planning to create the $153 million Global Technology Center in Charlotte, N.C. The 375,000-sf facility will be located on 15 upper floors in the planned Design Center Tower, a 23-story building developed by a joint venture of Childress Klein and RAM Realty Advisors. The Lowe’s Global Technology Center will provide collaborative offices, meeting rooms, computer labs, and interaction areas to accelerate the development of solutions for the transformation of the company's technology systems.
Imagine a baby born today. She’s smart and science-minded. Through good luck and hard work, she earns her doctorate early, and by age 31, she is solidly embarked on a research career. What does her lab look like? That’s what two SmithGroup thought leaders—Adam Denmark, director of Laboratory Planning, and Steve Palumbo, Science and Technology Studio leader—sought to find out with their team members though a yearlong research initiative they called LAB2050. Collectively, the SmithGroup team and their client advisors defined six categories that they used to project current trends forward—technology, funding and partnerships, energy and the environment, collaboration, synergies, and planning and design—and to visualize the new ones that might emerge.
The University of Windsor celebrated the opening of the CAD$30 million Essex Centre of Research (CORe) in June of 2019 in Windsor, Ontario. Designed by NORR and Hariri Pontarini Architects, the 46,000-sf facility was constructed as an addition to Essex Hall and provides collaborative wet and dry laboratories for the study of advanced materials, transitional health, and medical physics.
Texas A&M University opened the $104 million Medical Research and Education Building II (MREB II) in June of 2019 in Bryan, Texas. Designed by Flad Architects and OMNIPLAN, the 155,077-sf project comprises a 48,200-sf vertical expansion to the existing Medical Research and Education Building (MREB I) and a 122,800-sf addition, enabling the College of Medicine's basic science departments to be collocated in a single campus.
Southwestern College dedicated the $85.6 million Math and Science Building in June of 2019 in Chula Vista, Calif. Designed by Marlene Imirzian & Associates Architects to put science on display, the 132,708-gsf (99,747-nsf) facility features dedicated spaces for the school's new fermentation and drone science programs, as well as providing three large lecture halls, 15 laboratory classrooms, 19 standard classrooms, computer labs, study areas, administrative and faculty offices, collaboration areas, and a maker suite with a 3D printer.
The University of Missouri System broke ground on the $221 million NextGen Precision Health Institute in June of 2019. Located at the University of Missouri-Columbia, the five-story, 265,000-sf translational research facility will accommodate over 60 principal investigators working in collaboration with industry partners to develop innovative personalized medicine solutions.
Royal Caribbean Cruises began construction in June of 2019 on its $300 million headquarters in Miami. Located on Dodge Island, the 10-story, 350,000-sf facility will provide open-plan offices and collaboration spaces to promote connectivity. Designed by HOK to mitigate the potential risks of climate change, the structure's lobby will be located 15 feet above sea level, and critical building systems will be sited on upper levels for maximum resiliency.
Drexel University and Tower Health broke ground in June of 2019 on the 150,000-sf Drexel University College of Medicine at Tower Health in Wyomissing, Pa. The four-year regional campus will offer advanced simulation training suites, traditional classrooms, flexible learning environments, lecture halls, anatomy labs, and an information commons. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the facility will support optimal student health and wellbeing with a fitness center, indoor and outdoor recreation areas, lounges, a game room, and a café.
Butler University will begin construction in summer of 2019 on a $100 million renovation and expansion project to upgrade its science facilities in Indianapolis. The first phase of construction comprises a connecting structure joining the Holcomb building to Gallahue Hall.
Northwestern University opened the $560 million Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center in Chicago in June of 2019. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 12-story, 625,000-sf facility provides the Feinberg School of Medicine with integrated laboratory neighborhoods for the study of cancer, heart disease, and neurodegenerative disorders.
Boston College will begin construction in fall of 2019 on the $150 million Integrated Science Building in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Designed by Payette, the five-story, 156,500-sf facility will house the school’s new engineering and computer science departments as well as accommodating the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society.
Williams College is building the 105,000-sf North Science Center in Williamstown, Mass. Work began on the $130 million project in mid-2018 with the demolition of the existing Bronfman building, followed by excavation to enable the new five-story facility to reach several floors below grade. Designed by Payette, the structure will provide a 200-person auditorium, classrooms, labs, offices, and collaboration spaces for the departments of psychology, geoscience, and mathematics and statistics.
The Wistar Institute is partnering with University Place Associates to construct a 240,000-sf life science discovery hub in the University City district of Philadelphia. Designed to accelerate innovation by providing shared resources and critical infrastructure, the collaborative project will provide leasable laboratories and offices for biotech firms, research companies, and academic institutions.
The University of North Carolina at Charlotte broke ground on a $101 million science building in May of 2019. Designed to support problem-based, experiential learning, the 130,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide flexible classrooms, teaching labs, and research spaces for STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Occupancy is expected in 2021.
