Government

The U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science has selected Hensel Phelps to deliver the Second Target Station (STS) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Part of a significant upgrade of the Spallation Neutron Source, the new facility will provide transformational neutron capabilities that will advance scientific discovery and solve emerging societal challenges. The development represents an investment of up to $3 billion and will be built over the course of eight years.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture broke ground in June of 2024 on a new facility for the Dairy Forage Research Center in Prairie Du Sac, Wis. Created in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the world-class complex will enable the Agricultural Research Service to work side-by-side with academic investigators to develop sustainable solutions for animal husbandry, food production, and water management.

The $93 million Agriculture & Natural Resources Building (ANRB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville provides enhanced research, education, and collaboration with advanced technology, specialized labs, flexible classrooms, a large commons area, a 500-seat auditorium, lecture halls, seamless connections to nearby academic buildings, and a welcoming pedestrian plaza to engage the community. A biophilic design connects students, faculty, and staff with nature through the use of clerestory windows and a green roof that acts as an exterior living room with research gardens.  

Designs by ZMM Architects and Engineers and CannonDesign are underway for a new facility that will bring together under one roof three West Virginia state laboratories and researchers from two universities, creating novel opportunities for collaboration. McClaren, Wilson & Lawrie (MWL) are the lab planners for the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and State Police Forensics, and Potesta & Associates are providing civil engineering services. Housed in the new building will be:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture broke ground in May of 2024 on the $160 million National Center for Resilient and Regenerative Precision Agriculture (NCRRPA). Created in partnership with the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the transformative development will enable the Agricultural Research Service to explore new solutions for sustainable crop production, water management, and animal husbandry.

The Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) broke ground in May of 2024 on the 68,000-sf, $109.7 million Princeton Plasma Innovation Center (PPIC), a laboratory and office facility designed by SmithGroup and dedicated to research in the fields of microelectronics, quantum sensors and devices, and sustainability sciences, with a focus on achieving fusion energy by 2040. 

Savannah River National Laboratory is constructing the Advanced Manufacturing Collaborative (AMC) on the campus of the University of South Carolina Aiken. Designed by Page and STOA Architects, the $50 million facility will enable the Department of Energy's Office of Environmental Management to engage in shared discovery with academic institutions, industry partners, and government agencies at the city, state, and federal level.

Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory will break ground in summer of 2024 on a 68,000-sf research facility at the Forrestal campus in Plainsboro. Designed by SmithGroup, the Princeton Plasma Innovation Center will offer laboratories of various sizes where PPPL investigators will engage in shared discovery with academic and industry partners. Open meeting venues with whiteboards will encourage the spontaneous exchange of ideas, and collaboration spaces equipped with advanced technologies will support interaction with remote participants.

The U.S. Department of Energy is planning to construct the Energy Materials and Processing at Scale (EMAPS) facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado. Located on the South Table Mountain Campus, the $224 million development will create a direct path from bench-scale materials and process innovations to pilot-scale integration and production.

SKS Partners is planning to construct the Berkeley Space Center at NASA Research Park in Mountain View. Representing a joint venture with the University of California, Berkeley, the 36-acre innovation hub at Moffett Field will catalyze technological breakthroughs spanning astronautics, aeronautics, quantum computing, climate studies, and the social sciences.

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) began construction in September of 2023 on the $240 million Energy and Minerals Research Facility in Golden, Colo. Sited on the campus of the Colorado School of Mines, the 190,000-sf building will enable 250 USGS researchers to work side-by-side with 68 of the university's investigators and 150 students. This collaborative nexus for applied geosciences will include state-of-the-art laboratories, faculty offices, graduate student workstations, a classroom, and a café.

Ground was officially broken in July of 2023 on the Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre (ASEC) in Moncton, New Brunswick. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in association with EXP, the CAD$350 million project will transform the existing Gulf Fisheries Centre into a four-story complex equipped with modern laboratories and technologies.

Ancora L&G began construction in August of 2023 on a $195 million life sciences center in Providence that will provide 80,000 sf of world-class research space for the Rhode Island Department of Health. Occupying the entirety of the second and third floors, the new state health lab will feature BSL-3 suites for the detection and mitigation of infectious disease agents and environmental hazards.

The evolution of space planning and utilization was kicked into overdrive during the COVID-19 pandemic, as everyone from private industry to higher education to government entities was forced to rethink who works where, and when. After three years of transition, organizations are now implementing innovative hybrid work scenarios and space utilization initiatives that reflect the new workplace landscape. The emerging solution is a hybrid work model that blends work-from-home with time spent at a shared physical work environment. That provides institutions the opportunity to make the most efficient use of the space they have, shed the facilities they don’t need, and focus on creating spaces that entice employees out of their home offices and back to the workplace.

The National Institutes of Health broke ground in May of 2023 on a $630 million addition to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda. Designed by HOK, the Surgery, Radiology, and Laboratory Medicine Wing will enable the discovery of innovative diagnostics, therapies, and cures for a wide range of diseases and conditions.