Collaboration

The National University of Singapore broke ground on the Net-Zero Energy Building in November of 2016. Designed by Multiply Architects and Serie Architects, the six-story, 91,644-gsf facility will provide research labs, design studios, workshops, a test-bedding façade, and collaborative learning spaces. The building will be constructed as a living laboratory for sustainable design and will feature hybrid cooling technologies, 1,200 photovoltaic panels, and natural lighting and ventilation.

Texas Tech University is initiating an $86 million expansion of its Health Sciences Center in Lubbock. Designed by Hill International, the 183,000-sf project includes the 56,000-sf Education, Research & Technology Building and the 17,000-sf West Expansion Building. A third facility adjoining an existing library will create an additional 110,000 sf of teaching and research space, and will feature a 240-seat flipped classroom and a sophisticated gross anatomy lab.

NASA Glenn Research Center is planning to begin construction in summer of 2018 on the Research Support Building (RSB) on its Lewis Field campus. Designed by TEN Arquitectos to promote collaboration, the 75,000-sf facility will act as a new campus center, offering conference rooms, a cafeteria, and office space for 240 employees. Occupancy is expected in 2020.

UMass Medical School opened the $20 million Massachusetts Facility for High-Resolution Cryo-Electron Microscopy in October of 2016 in Worcester. Featuring a 2,000-sf microscopy suite housing two cryo-EM systems, the $5 million Titan Krios and the $4 million Talos-Arctica, the 4,100-sf laboratory will provide academic investigators and industry partners with advanced imaging capabilities for biomedical and pharmaceutical research.

The University of North Texas broke ground in October of 2016 on the Interdisciplinary Research and Education Building in Fort Worth. Supported by $80 million in state funding, the 173,000-sf facility will accommodate a progressive, team-based pedagogy for health sciences and interprofessional education. Designed by Treanor Architects, the building will house the College of Pharmacy, the North Texas Eye Research Institute, and the Institute for Molecular and Therapeutic Development.

Michigan State University opened the $70 million Bio Engineering Facility in East Lansing in October of 2016. Supporting interdisciplinary biomedical research, the 130,000-sf building provides modular open labs and offices for faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine, and Natural Science. Promoting collaboration with many other departments, including veterinary medicine, nursing, and osteopathy, the sustainably designed project is physically connected to both the Clinical Center and Life Sciences buildings to promote the sharing of core resources.

The State University of New York (SUNY) Upstate Medical University opened the final phase of its Biotech Accelerator in September of 2016. Located in Syracuse, N.Y., the 60,000-sf facility was designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative and constructed by Murnane Building Contractors. Providing wet labs, dry labs, and core research space with shared equipment, the project houses the Medical Innovation and Novel Discovery (MIND) Center and the Molecular Pathology Next Generation Sequencing Lab.

The University of Texas at Arlington broke ground in October of 2016 on the $125 million Science and Engineering Innovation and Research Building. Designed by Page and ZGF Architects to support team-based learning and discovery, the six-story, 220,000-sf facility will provide two floors of instructional space, with research activities occupying four floors and a basement level.

Arizona State University broke ground in October of 2016 on the $120 million Biodesign Institute Building C in Tempe. Designed by ZGF (Zimmer Gunsul Frasca) and BWS Architects to promote interaction, the 188,000-gsf project will accommodate up to 80 principal investigators arranged in collaborative neighborhoods over five floors and a basement level. The multidisciplinary research building will house a compact X-ray laser facility, wet labs, high bay spaces, and offices.

Oklahoma State University broke ground in October of 2016 on the $35 million Undergraduate Engineering and Technology Laboratory Building in Stillwater. Supporting a progressive pedagogy for interactive education, the 70,000-sf facility will provide 14 undergraduate research labs, a lecture hall, and flexible student project space. Chemical, biomedical, and environmental science labs will feature configurable pilot plants for hands-on instruction in manufacturing and bioprocessing.

Johnson & Johnson Innovation (JJI) is creating the Center for Device Innovation at Texas Medical Center (CDI @ TMC) in Houston. Designed by Gensler, the facility will feature a 26,000-sf makerspace for the development of advanced medical devices, from initial concept through to commercialization. The center is JJI’s second collaborative R&D project at the Texas Medical Center and is slated for occupancy in July of 2017.

Cleveland State University broke ground in October of 2016 on a $60 million expansion of the Washkewicz College of Engineering. Constructed by Gilbane Building Company as an addition to Fenn Hall, the four-story, 100,000-sf building will feature a makerspace with 3D printing equipment and computer-aided design stations as well as traditional manufacturing tools.

The University of Kentucky dedicated the $112 million Jacobs Science Building in October of 2016. Designed by Payette and JRA Architects, the flexible 240,000-sf facility features technology-enabled active learning (TEAL) classrooms, collaborative teaching labs, advanced instrumentation suites, lecture halls, and outdoor classrooms. The sustainably designed project was built by Messer Construction. 

Central Washington University opened the $64 million Science II facility in October of 2016 in Ellensburg, Wash. Housing the departments of geological sciences and physics as well as programs in math and astronomy, the five-story, 120,000-sf building features an 80-seat lecture hall and planetarium, an observatory tower, optics and laser labs, an ice core lab, a scanning electron microscopy suite, and an acoustic lab with an anechoic chamber.

The University of Notre Dame opened the $80 million McCourtney Hall of Molecular Sciences and Engineering in October of 2016 in South Bend, Ind. The four-story, 220,000-sf research building houses the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry. Providing 100,000 sf of laboratory space, the interdisciplinary facility comprises two wings connected by a collaborative core of faculty offices and conference rooms.