Higher Education

The University of Calgary, already a major research institution, is pushing to become one of Canada’s top five research universities, with construction of the Energy Environment Experiential Learning Building (EEEL). Completed in 2011, the 263,000-sf EEEL is host to science and engineering, with three departments each operating from 38 instructional labs and 15 research labs. The EEEL utilizes a basic laboratory module in a big box with a hollow core, and a floor plate about the size of a Canadian football field, wrapped in a glass curtain wall.

Queen’s University Belfast is building the $55 million School of Biological Sciences in the United Kingdom. Providing advanced teaching and research facilities, the 118,400-sf project will support programs in food science, agriculture, infectious diseases, environmental science, and waste management. Designed by Scott Tallon Walker, the facility will house the Institute for Global Food Security as well as accommodating the School of Biological Sciences’ 170 staff and 750 students.

Augustana University is building the $35 million Froiland Science Complex in Sioux Falls, S.D. Designed by SmithGroupJJR and TSP, the project includes 43,000 sf of new construction as well as renovation of the Gilbert Science Center. Accommodating programs in biology, biochemistry, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and physics, the complex is designed to put science on display and will feature ‘classatories’ or conjoined classroom/lab spaces.

The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point broke ground on its $75 million Science Building in May of 2016. Designed by HOK and Potter Lawson to promote visibility and transparency, the four-story, 176,500-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs for biology and chemistry. Flexible instructional spaces with moveable furniture will accommodate a variety of learning styles in two 98-seat lecture halls, three 48-seat classrooms, and two 24-seat classrooms.

One might not typically associate North Dakota with the future of medical professional education and with fair reason: It is one of the least populated states in America to be home to a full medical school. But that perception may soon change, thanks to the University of North Dakota’s new School of Medicine and Health Sciences facility, opening this summer, which aims to move from aging, closed, and fixed learning spaces to open and adaptive, technology-integrated, interdisciplinary spaces.

Banner-University Medical Center broke ground in May of 2016 on a $500 million hospital complex in Tucson. A 670,000-sf, nine-story tower will provide 200 private patient rooms, laboratories, operating rooms, diagnostic suites, and a cafeteria. A three-story outpatient clinic accommodating medical specialties, radiation oncology, and medical imaging will also be constructed. The $100 million clinic is slated for completion by early 2018, with the $400 million patient tower opening in early 2019.

Plymouth University is constructing the $22 million Derriford Research Facility at Plymouth Science Park in the United Kingdom. Housing advanced biomedical laboratories for the Peninsula Schools of Medicine and Dentistry, the 25,000-sf project will support clinical collaboration with the adjacent Derriford Hospital for the development of translational therapies. The facility will accommodate research on infectious diseases including Ebola and bovine TB as well as conditions such as Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's disease, and cancer.

Rutgers University broke ground on the $84 million Richard Weeks Hall of Engineering in May of 2016. The 105,000-sf facility represents the first phase of a planned engineering complex and will act as a gateway to the Busch campus in Piscataway, N.J. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the interdisciplinary teaching and research building will provide smart classrooms, wet and dry labs, a cleanroom, a high bay lab, offices, conference rooms, interaction space, and a team-based learning (TBL) lecture hall.

Columbia University is building the 450,000-sf Jerome L. Greene Science Center in New York City. Designed by Renzo Piano, the interdisciplinary facility will promote creative collaboration among scientists with inviting interaction areas and laboratories arranged in connected quadrants. The Greene Science Center is the first structure on Columbia's 17-acre Manhattanville campus and is funded in part by a $250 million donation.

The University of Wyoming began construction in July of 2016 on a $6.21 million renovation of its BSL-3 biocontainment laboratory in Laramie. The facility is being built as a 20,000-sf addition to the Department of Veterinary Sciences facility and will support research on wildlife and livestock diseases including brucellosis, plague, tularemia, and Q fever. The general contractor for the project is Sampson Construction of Cheyenne. Completion is expected in late spring of 2017.

The 80,000-sf, three-story New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition and Health (IFNH), on the George H. Cook Campus of Rutgers University, is dedicated to promoting a healthy lifestyle statewide, and serves as a national model of interdisciplinary research and public health practice, with research laboratories and core facilities, laboratory support, a preschool, office space, team rooms, and a food service area.

Brigham Young University began construction in May of 2016 on a new home for the Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology in Provo, Utah. Funded entirely by donors, the $80 million facility will feature a dedicated laboratory annex, a student innovation floor, and a prototyping shop.

Cal Poly is planning to build the $57 million Science & Agriculture Teaching and Research Complex in San Luis Obispo. The 64,000-sf facility will provide undergraduate laboratories, technology suites, and instructional space for the colleges of Liberal Arts, Science and Mathematics, and Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences. The project was designed by ZGF Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory programming and design consultant.

An increased focus on creating active, engaging, and collaborative learning environments for STEM disciplines is changing the way these spaces are planned and designed, while demands for sustainability and space and energy efficiencies continue to exert an influence. The expansion of the traditional science, technology, engineering, and mathematics acronym to include art (STEAM); science, math, and art (SMArt); or nursing (SMArt Nursing) is driving new classroom and laboratory configurations and more inviting, open designs, where learning is on full display.

At Duke University, a new 7,600-sf maker space is generating substantial excitement among students and faculty alike. An older building, Gross Hall, was completely renovated. Prior to the renovation, the basement level housed air handlers and other outdated utility equipment; with its expansive floorplate and 35-foot ceiling freed up, the design team was able, over the course of a year, to create a comprehensive, co-curricular space for projects of all kinds.