Collaboration

The University of Texas Medical Branch broke ground on the $90 million Health Education Building in Galveston in April of 2017. The five-story, 166,000-sf facility will support collaborative interprofessional education programs with large learning studios, technology-rich labs, flipped classrooms, and simulation training suites. The construction manager-at-risk for the project is Vaughn Construction. Occupancy is expected in spring of 2019.

The State of Idaho will begin construction in mid-2017 on two new research facilities at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls. The 80,000-sf Cybercore Integration Center will accommodate cybersecurity research, development, and education. The 67,000-sf Collaborative Computing Center will house a supercomputer for advanced simulation and modeling operations. The estimated construction cost of both facilities is $75 million. The new centers will be owned by the state of Idaho and leased by INL, which is managed by Battelle.

Texas State University is building the $120 million Bruce and Gloria Ingram Hall on its San Marcos campus. Designed by TreanorHL and Alamo Architects, the five-story, 122,665-sf facility will provide a makerspace, collaborative teaching and research labs, classrooms, study areas, and a robotics and welding studio. Ground was broken on the multidisciplinary project in August of 2016 and completion is expected in summer of 2018.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center officially broke ground in April of 2017 on the $119 million Balbach Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning in Omaha. Serving as the headquarters for the Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning (iEXCEL), the four-story, 191,884-sf facility will feature simulation suites and virtual immersive reality environments for medical training. The ground floor of the building will be occupied by the National Center for Health Security and Biopreparedness.

The University of Texas at San Antonio is planning to begin construction in early 2018 on the $95 million Science and Engineering Building. Designed by TreanorHL and Alamo Architects to promote interaction and collaboration, the multidisciplinary facility will provide active learning classrooms, teaching labs, and faculty offices to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The University of Sussex is planning to build the £60 million Life Sciences Building in Brighton in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hawkins Brown Architects, the 183,000-sf project includes the renovation of an existing genome research building and construction of a five-story addition housing technology-rich classrooms and collaborative laboratories for research and teaching. The sustainably designed facility will feature natural materials, green roofs, and internal courtyard atriums.

The Medical College of Georgia is engaged in a $62.5 million expansion of its cancer research facilities in Augusta. Designed to promote interaction between clinicians and researchers, the project includes the creation of a three-story facility housing offices and collaboration space connecting the M.

California State University, Dominguez Hills is partnering with the Toyota USA Foundation to build the Toyota Center for Innovation in STEM Education in Carson. Designed by HGA Architects with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as laboratory design consultant, the 87,000-sf facility will include a fabrication lab, SMART classrooms, collaborative workspaces, and labs for K-12 teacher training and demonstrations.

Bentley University opened the renovated Jennison Hall in March of 2017 in Waltham, Mass. Designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, the $22.5 million project comprises 85,000 sf of space accommodating classrooms, labs, offices, and interaction areas.

North Central College celebrated the opening of the $60 million Science Center in March of 2017. Located in Naperville, Ill., the four-story, 125,000-sf facility will support progressive pedagogies for STEM education programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Designed by Holabird & Root, the multidisciplinary building provides 18 teaching labs, 16 research labs, 15 seminar classrooms, 19 student gathering areas, 53 faculty and staff offices, a lecture hall, and a greenhouse.

SUNY New Paltz opened the $48 million Science Hall in March of 2017 in New Paltz, N.Y. Designed by ZGF Architects, the two-story, 77,000-sf facility provides lecture halls, collaboration spaces, and 20 laboratories to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. LEED Silver certification will be sought for the sustainably designed project, which was built by Niram Construction. 

The University of Toronto is building the Centre for Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship in Toronto, Ontario. Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects and Fielden Clegg Bradley Studios, the CAD$200 million facility will feature TEAL classrooms for technology-enhanced active learning, a two-story atrium offering abundant natural light, a 500-seat auditorium, and studios for design, fabrication, and prototyping.

The University of Cincinnati began construction in March of 2017 on the $61 million Health Sciences Building. The collaborative four-story facility was designed by Perkins+Will to support interprofessional medical education programs for the College of Allied Health Sciences. The 117,000-sf building will provide laboratories, classrooms, and offices. Completion is expected by early 2019.

Georgia Southern University broke ground in February of 2017 on the $33.6 million Interdisciplinary Academic Building in Statesboro. Designed by HOK, the 110,000-sf facility will provide classrooms to support a progressive pedagogy of interactive, student-centered learning.

“Convergence” is the term increasingly used to describe the intermingling of disciplines in next-gen academic research facilities. Embodied by today’s moonshot-type initiatives targeting big picture-level discovery, convergence has been dubbed “the next scientific revolution.” It is characterized by collaboration among experts in multiple fields of endeavor tackling the major scientific problems of our time. From a facility perspective, convergence goes beyond the organizational progression that has seen traditional departmental siloes challenged by the move to multidisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transdisciplinary or clustered research. It brings together many diverse specialties, from biomedicine to engineering to business to law, in a single place.