Higher Education

A hands-on, interactive, and problem-oriented approach to learning is taking campus planning and design by storm, focused on equipping students with the skills they need to tackle near-term and future challenges globally. Increasingly, universities are recognizing students’ desire to connect their educational experience with real-world applications, and “maker spaces” provide that intersection. They also appeal to big industry and help to connect students with job opportunities, particularly in STEM fields.

Texas Tech University selected Hill International in July of 2016 to design two new facilities on its Lubbock campus. Comprising the Education, Research & Technology Building and the West Expansion Building, the $83.7 million, 150,000-gsf project will provide modular open labs for interdisciplinary research, principal investigator offices, core instrumentation suites, academic offices, a seminar room, and support space. 

Berea College is building the $72 million Margaret A. Cargill Natural Sciences and Health Building in Berea, K.Y. Housing the departments of biology, chemistry, mathematics, nursing, and physics, the 125,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will support collaborative education with technology-rich ‘classatories’, team project labs, and seminar rooms for problem-based learning.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is planning to build the $102 million Global Center for Advanced Interprofessional Learning in Omaha. The 183,742-sf facility will act as the headquarters of an initiative called iEXCEL (Interprofessional Experiential Center for Enduring Learning) and will feature virtual immersive reality environments for medical training. The project will also provide collaborative space for engineers, graphic artists, and instructional design experts to develop and research new learning tools and techniques.

The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) is designing new facilities to respond to the experiential, project team-based learning paradigms set forth in today’s cross-disciplinary agenda for science, technology, engineering, and math. With one new construction and a renovation project underway, TCNJ hopes to reap the same benefits realized at other institutions, which experienced increased applicants, enrollment, and STEM majors, as well as more effective pedagogies and greater research output.

Ferris State University will begin construction in fall of 2016 on a $30 million redevelopment of the Swan Technical Arts Building in Big Rapids, Mich. Housing the Center for Advanced Manufacturing and the Center for Welding Excellence, the project includes renovation of the existing 47,086-sf building and construction of a 34,462-sf addition. The facility will provide laboratories and classrooms for the College of Engineering Technology. Completion is expected in 2018.

Oregon Health & Science University broke ground in June of 2016 on the $160 Knight Cancer Institute in Portland. Designed by SRG Partnership to foster multidisciplinary collaboration, the seven-story, 320,000-sf facility is located on the South Waterfront Campus and will provide biomedical laboratories, administrative offices, interaction hubs, core labs, a 200-seat auditorium, and space for clinical trials.

The University of Western Ontario is constructing the Western Interdisciplinary Research Building (WIRB) in London, Ontario. Housing the Research Cluster for Cognitive Neuroscience and the Rotman Institute of Philosophy, the 120,000-sf facility will also provide mixed-use classrooms and 24,000 sf of shell space. The seven-story facility will include a partial basement and a mechanical penthouse. The project architect is Cannon Design. Completion is expected in late 2017.

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University began construction in late June of 2016 on the $22 million STEM Education Center in Prescott, Ariz. Designed by LEO A DALY, the 52,500-sf addition will feature 20 laboratories, including specialized facilities for the study of robotics, aerial engineering, space technologies, and high-speed computation and simulation. The teaching and research building will also provide classrooms, undergraduate science labs, meeting rooms, an auditorium, a multimedia center, and a planetarium.

Memorial University is planning to build the $325 million Core Science Facility in St. John's, Newfoundland. Designed by HOK Canada and Hearn/Fougere Architecture to promote integration and collaboration, the multidisciplinary project will include three tower blocks connected by two vertical atria spaces. The 480,000-gsf facility will provide 156,000 sf of research labs and 98,000 sf of teaching labs for the departments of biology, chemistry, biochemistry, and electrical and computer engineering.

Tufts University is building the 175,000-sf Science and Engineering Complex in Boston. The $110 million project includes construction of a five-story, 80,000-sf teaching and research atrium and the complete renovation of two adjoining halls. Designed to promote collaborative research in neuroscience and environmental science, the new building will provide three floors of wet research space, four core facilities, two imaging suites, a mass spectrometer suite, teaching labs, and seven meeting rooms.

Colleges and universities across the US are struggling to provide necessary STEM-focused learning and research environments in facilities that were constructed decades before an acronym was created to unify the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines. Institutions are addressing this concern by creating comprehensive, vision-driven plans to identify the facility renovation, construction, and repurposing required to meet their objectives.

Duke University will begin construction in summer of 2016 on the $103 million Medical Sciences Research Building III (MSRB III) in Durham, N.C. Comprising six floors above ground and one below, the 155,000-sf facility will accommodate collaborative research teams arranged in thematically aligned groups. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2018.

The University of Rochester is building the $25 million Wegmans Hall in Rochester, N.Y. Housing the Goergen Institute for Data Science, the four-story, 58,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide laboratories, classrooms, collaborative work zones, a large auditorium, and faculty and staff offices. LEED Silver sustainable design will be sought for the project, which will be dedicated in October of 2016 with occupancy expected in winter of 2017.

The University of Saskatchewan has renovated and modernized its health sciences education and research facilities to accommodate shared operations, space, and technology, using change management strategies to help faculty, staff, and students move from silos to a team-based model. The transformation incorporates institutional, as well as physical, changes, including restructuring established administrative processes and hierarchies.