The U.S. Department of Energy began construction in April of 2022 on the $75 million Grid Storage Launchpad at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. Designed by Kirksey Architecture with Arup as engineering consultant, the 86,000-sf structure will provide 35 labs for the development of advanced energy storage technologies.
North Carolina State University dedicated the $160.2 million Plant Sciences Building in Raleigh in April of 2022. Designed by Flad Architects, the 185,000-sf facility enables academic, government, and industry researchers to develop innovative solutions for global agricultural challenges.
Michigan Technological University will begin construction in May of 2022 on the H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex in Houghton. Designed by HED, the $45 million project will accommodate integrated educational programs in health-related fields and accelerate the creation of human-centered technological innovations.
Lehigh University opened the $145 million Health, Science and Technology Building in spring of 2022 in Bethlehem, Pa. Designed by HGA to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the 200,000-gsf facility features flexible open laboratories for research programs in biohealth, energy, and materials science. Interior glass walls enhance visibility and connectivity in the five-story structure, which includes multipurpose instructional venues, the Health Data Warehouse, and the administrative home of the College of Health.
George Mason University broke ground in April of 2022 on Fuse at Mason Square in Arlington, Va. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering, the $243 million facility will accommodate the Institute for Digital Innovation and graduate programs for the School of Computing. Seamlessly integrating academic, research, and commercial endeavors, the 345,000-sf building will drive collaboration among students, faculty, industry, and government partners to discover new solutions for the world’s grand challenges.
The University of Arkansas broke ground in April of 2022 on the Institute for Integrative & Innovative Research (I3R) in Fayetteville. Designed by HGA and Hufft, the $137.6 million facility will house five centers of excellence to drive discovery and commercialization in the overlapping fields of data science, food systems, materials science and engineering, integrative systems neuroscience, and metabolism bioscience and bioengineering.
Virginia Tech began construction in April of 2022 on the $69.5 million Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building in Blacksburg. The 102,366-gsf facility will feature 26 wet, dry, and specialty labs designed to be flexible and adaptable to the current and future instructional needs of the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Resources and Environment, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
The Bakar BioEnginuity Hub (BBH), a newly opened life science incubator in Woo Hon Fai Hall on the University of California Berkeley campus, sets a new standard for adaptive reuse of historically significant buildings. Originally completed in 1970, the 94,000-sf cast-in-place concrete building was designed by famed San Francisco architect Mario Ciampi as the home of the Berkeley Art Museum and the Pacific Film Archive. Considered an iconic example of mid-century brutalist architecture, the building was found to have significant seismic vulnerabilities after a campus-wide assessment was conducted in 1997. Despite installing temporary reinforcement bracing that improved the building’s seismic rating from “very poor” to “poor,” the museum ultimately moved to a new location in 2014, leaving the massive complex vacant until a decision was made in 2018 to transform it into a life science research incubator that also preserved the building’s historic legacy. While the bold adaptive reuse goal was laudable and widely supported, the architectural engineering and mechanical challenges of retrofitting the historic building to support the needs of a modern flexible life sciences lab were unprecedented.
Gonzaga University opened the $50 million Bollier Family Center for Integrated Science and Engineering in spring of 2022 in Spokane, Wash. Designed by SRG Partnership and Integrus with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 82,679-sf building is physically connected to the PACCAR Center for Applied Science and Hughes Hall to create a campus nexus for STEM education.
The University of Nevada, Las Vegas broke ground on the $75 million Advanced Engineering Building in February of 2022. Located on the Maryland campus, the three-story, 52,000-sf facility will enable the Howard R. Hughes College of Engineering to increase total enrollment from 3,000 to 5,000 students. The ground floor will provide undergraduates with numerous opportunities for experiential learning with a maker space, interactive classrooms, and a flexible auditorium and event venue.
Arizona State University completed construction in early 2022 on the $192 million Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health in Tempe. Designed by Architekton and Grimshaw, the 281,000-gsf facility provides leading-edge research labs for biological and life sciences, engineering, and sustainability, as well as offering dry labs for programs in computing, cybersecurity, and robotics.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University opened the $90 million Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research & Innovation Complex in Greensboro in February of 2022. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering, the four-story, 130,000-gsf building accommodates programs in cybersecurity and network systems, energy and sustainability, and health applications.
The University of California, Davis broke ground in February of 2022 on Aggie Square in Sacramento. Designed by ZGF Architects, the first phase of the mixed-use district is being developed in association with Wexford Science + Technology and GMH Capital Partners, who will finance, construct, and own the facilities. At the heart of Aggie Square, a vibrant central plaza will offer a variety of settings for informal interaction, mobile work, and outdoor gatherings.
The U.S. Air Force will begin construction in spring of 2022 on the $279 million Compound Semiconductor Laboratory – Microsystem Integration Facility (CSL-MIF) in Lexington, Mass. Supporting the growth, fabrication, and characterization of semiconductors made of two or more different elements, the 160,000-sf structure will enable scientists and engineers to package heterogeneously integrated electronic prototypes for specialized applications.
Virginia Tech broke ground in February of 2022 on the $85 million Hitt Hall in Blacksburg. Providing an expanded physical presence for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the 100,000-gsf facility will enhance interdisciplinary synergies between the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering.
