Higher Education

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is constructing the $70 million Science Research Building in Edinburg. Supporting STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the four-story, 115,000-sf project will provide classrooms, teaching labs, faculty and researcher offices, an instrumentation research and teaching core, and research labs for biological and physical science. Additionally, the $54 million Academic Building is being constructed in Brownsville.

Auburn University broke ground in February of 2017 on the Brown-Kopel Engineering Student Achievement Center in Auburn, Ala. The $40 million facility will feature a design and innovation center with maker spaces, labs, shops, project incubators, and flexible classrooms for active learning. The project will also include technology-rich study spaces, conference rooms, and auditoriums, as well as areas for recruitment, tutoring, and academic advising. Completion is expected in spring of 2019.  

The University of California, San Francisco will begin construction in 2019 on a $200 million academic and research facility at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (ZSFG). Supporting the University’s existing research programs at the hospital, the five-story, 175,000-sf project will consolidate and replace labs and offices that do not meet new seismic regulations. Accommodating 800 faculty, trainees, and staff, the development will also enable ZSFG to maintain its status as the city’s only Level 1 Trauma Center.

The University of Idaho opened the $53 million Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) on its Moscow campus in January of 2017. Designed by NBBJ, the collaborative 70,000-sf project features flexible laboratories for interdisciplinary research, an advanced visualization suite, offices, conference rooms, and core labs with shared equipment. Hoffman Construction Company broke ground on the facility in August of 2014. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Arizona State University (ASU) has designed its engineering schools to not only teach engineering, but also to develop entrepreneurs. In addition to the traditional classroom education, students are given the space and the skills to invent, design, produce, and market what their minds conceive.

The University of South Florida is planning to build a $153 million facility to house the Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Tampa. Designed by HOK, the 320,000-sf project will provide laboratories, learning spaces, conference rooms, faculty offices, an auditorium, and a clinical trials unit. The construction manager is Skanska USA Building and completion is expected in late 2019.

Brigham Young University-Idaho dedicated the 108,000-sf Science and Technology Building in February of 2017 in Rexburg. Designed by CRSA of Salt Lake City, the three-story facility provides classrooms, multifunctional laboratories, and faculty offices for the Departments of Animal and Food Science, Applied Plant Science, Computer Information Technology, and Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. Illuminated by abundant natural light, the project will feature collaborative areas for student projects.

Central Michigan University opened the $95 million Biosciences Building in January of 2017 in Mount Pleasant. Designed by Stantec to promote interaction and collaboration, the four-story, 169,000-sf facility provides teaching labs, research labs, lecture halls, an active learning classroom, an auditorium, and faculty offices. The building also includes a BSL-3 suite, an herbarium, an imaging center, and an aquatic research vivarium. Clark Construction began work on the project in September of 2014.

Combining wireless sensor networks with custom mobile apps to create interactive “sentient buildings” and smart community spaces has the potential to significantly impact the future of facility design in higher education, healthcare, research, and other sectors where increased collaboration and space efficiency are crucial.

The Nexus Building is home to Adelphi University’s College of Nursing and Public Health and the Center for Health Innovation, and serves as a hub for core student services. It is also a welcoming space for prospective families who visit Adelphi’s admissions office, and alumni who access the advancement office. 

Santa Clara University will begin construction in fall of 2018 on the $275 million Sobrato Campus for Discovery and Innovation in Santa Clara, Calif. Supporting STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the multidisciplinary project will feature a 300,000-sf undergraduate teaching and research facility comprised of three wings. The center was designed by ZGF Architects to promote collaboration and will provide technology-rich laboratories, classrooms, and interaction areas.

The State University of New York at Binghamton is constructing the $60 million School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences in New York. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the 105,000-sf building will provide sophisticated teaching and research labs, lecture halls, faculty offices, a library, and student activity space. Accommodating 240 students and approximately 36 faculty members, the four-story facility will feature interactive classrooms that can accommodate lectures as well as team-based learning activities.

Murray State University is building the $37 million Engineering Physics Building in Murray, Ky. Designed by Hastings+Chivetta with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 72,500-sf undergraduate science facility will provide teaching and research labs for engineering, biology, chemistry, astronomy, electronics, and materials science.

The University of Windsor broke ground in January of 2017 on the $23 million Science Research and Innovation Centre in Ontario, Canada. The collaborative 46,000-sf facility will feature sophisticated laboratories for research and development in advanced materials, biomedical science, and automotive technologies. The project is being constructed by Amico Design Build with Colliers as project manager. Completion is expected in April of 2018. 

The University of Texas at Austin is building the $314 million Engineering Education and Research Center. Designed by Ennead Architects, the 433,000-sf facility will provide the Cockrell School of Engineering with multidisciplinary research labs, teaching labs, classrooms, meeting rooms, collaboration space, a central atrium, and a 299-seat auditorium. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will feature the National Instruments Student Project Center, the Texas Instruments Laboratories, and the Innovation Center.