Bellevue College opened its $21.8 million Health Sciences Building in December of 2015 in Bellevue, Wash. Designed by LMN Architects and built by Bayley Construction, the 70,500-sf facility provides classrooms and teaching labs for programs in imaging and nursing, as well as academic and administrative offices. The Health Sciences Building features a five-room simulation training lab and two clinical skills labs with a total of 20 hospital beds.
Hudson County Community College is constructing the $25 million Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics building on its Jersey City campus. The 70,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, science labs, lecture halls, offices, computer labs, student lounges, and a café. Occupancy is expected in 2017.
Complex technology, expanding program, and increasingly specialized and segmented roles and responsibilities often create a disconnect in the process of designing and building sophisticated facilities. The result can be a research or diagnostic lab or high-containment animal building that becomes a burden to the owner, whether because it hasn’t been right-sized, is not energy efficient, or operates with sub-par reliability. The solution is to assign someone the task of aligning design decisions with the building’s ultimate scientific mission.
Coppin State University’s new four-story Science and Technology Center houses the Math/Computer Science Department, the Natural Sciences Department, and research space for faculty and advanced undergraduate students. It also contains the campus-wide IT Department, along with a major campus data center. General classrooms and computer labs on the lower level of the building are open to the entire campus, along with an exhibit space and a 100-student lecture hall. Other features include an outdoor garden classroom, green roof, and technologically enhanced collaboration spaces.
The University of St. Andrews is planning to build a $15 million marine research laboratory at East Sands in St. Andrews, Scotland. The 24,000-sf facility will act as a global oceanic research hub supporting the study of conservation and climate change. The project will accommodate the headquarters of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) as well as housing the Scottish Oceans Institute, including the Sea Mammal Research Unit.
Carleton University began construction in December of 2015 on a $52 million (USD$36.8 million) health sciences building in Ottawa. The seven-story, 120,000-sf facility will provide classrooms and open laboratories to support neuroscience and health sciences programs. The project will also include collaborative research space for the study of healthy aging and infectious diseases. Completion is expected in August of 2017.
Richard J. Daley College will begin construction in 2016 on a $75 million advanced manufacturing center in Chicago. The project will support the estimated 14,000 manufacturing jobs that are projected to come to Chicago in the next ten years. The facility will open in fall of 2018.
Saint Mary's University is building the $19 million Science and Learning Center in Winona, Minn. The three-story, 50,000-sf teaching and research facility will physically connect to the existing Adducci Science Center and will provide advanced labs and classrooms to support interactive learning. Designed and built by Wight & Company of Chicago, the center will feature a 120-seat tiered auditorium and a three-story atrium. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2015 and completion is expected in June of 2017.
The Medical College of Wisconsin will break ground in spring of 2016 on a $58 million administrative building in Wauwatosa. Designed by Flad Architects with C.G. Schmidt as construction manager, the 225,000-sf facility will stand approximately seven stories high and will house up to 1,200 faculty and staff members. Completion is expected in fall of 2017.
Tusculum College is building the $30 million Meen Center for Science and Mathematics in Greenville, Tenn. Designed by John Fisher + Associates, the four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs, classrooms, and lecture halls for programs in biology, chemistry, computer science, nursing, mathematics, and environmental science. Rentenbach Constructors began work on the project in May of 2015 and completion is expected in September of 2016.
The University of Kansas Medical Center began construction in fall of 2015 on the $75 million Health Education Building in Kansas City. Serving as the primary teaching facility for the schools of Medicine, Nursing, and Health Professions, the 171,000-sf building will provide advanced simulation training suites and flexible, technology-rich learning spaces to support emerging healthcare pedagogies and interprofessional education programs.
The University of Central Arkansas is building the Conway Corporation Center for Sciences in Conway, Ark. Designed by Stuck Associates and WER Architects/Planners, the project includes renovation of the Lewis Science Center and construction of a three-story, 50,000-sf addition at a cost of $17.5 million. Research Facilities Design (RFD) is providing laboratory programming and design services for the facility, which will feature flexible labs and classrooms to support emerging pedagogies.
South Louisiana Community College will break ground in early 2016 on a $17.1 million health and science facility in Lafayette. The three-story, 63,000-sf building will accommodate programs in nursing and allied health as well as providing space for STEM education (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). The project will also house administrative offices, a 250-seat auditorium, a virtual hospital, computer labs, conference rooms, and wet and dry science teaching labs. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2016.
Clackamas Community College will begin construction in summer of 2016 on the second phase of the Harmony Campus in Portland, Ore. The three-story, 42,464-sf facility will provide chemistry and biology labs, flexible classrooms, and two computer labs. The project will also include space for community events, informal learning areas, a bookstore, and support. The $16 million project is slated for occupancy in fall of 2017.
Colorado State University is constructing an $82 million biology building in Fort Collins. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht and built by Haselden Construction, the 151,560-sf facility will provide technology-enhanced classrooms, teaching and research labs, a lecture hall, and two-story collaboration spaces to promote student-faculty interactions. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.
