Higher Education

The 12-story McGlothlin Medical Education Center at Virginia Commonwealth University houses classrooms, office space, and simulation facilities that shift the focus away from lecture-based learning and towards experiential learning. The 25,000-sf Center for Human Simulation and Patient Safety—a state-of-the-art facility serving medical students, residents, and continuing medical education students in both the Simulation and Standardized Patient programs—occupies two floors.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte dedicated the Siemens Energy Large Manufacturing Solutions Laboratory in March of 2015. Accommodating research on precision dimensional measurement of large-scale energy components, the facility features a 30-ton Leitz PMM-F machine housed in a temperature-controlled room. The lab is located in the Energy Production and Infrastructure Center (EPIC) and was supported by $2 million in funding from Siemens Energy and Hexagon Metrology.

Missouri State University is building the $19.5 million O’Reilly Clinical Health Sciences Center in Springfield. The 50,000-sf facility will provide a multidisciplinary health clinic, medical skills training labs, simulation suites, classrooms, offices, and space for nursing and occupational therapy programs. Construction began on the project in July of 2014 and completion is expected in fall of 2015.

Stony Brook University is planning to build the $62 million Innovation and Discovery Center in the 246-acre Research and Development Park in Stony Brook, N.Y. Designed by Mitchell Giurgola Architects, the 200,000-gsf business incubator will provide laboratory and office space for innovative biotechnology and high-tech companies. Construction will begin in spring of 2016 and completion is expected within three years.

The University of Warwick began construction in March of 2015 on the $220 million National Automotive Innovation Campus in Coventry in the United Kingdom. Created in partnership with Jaguar Land Rover, Warwick Manufacturing Group, and Tata Motors, the 355,000-sf R&D facility will provide advanced engineering labs, design studios, virtual reality suites, demonstration areas, and instructional space. The general contractor for the project is Balfour Beatty. Occupancy is expected in early 2017. 

The University of Canberra will begin construction in early 2016 on a $100 million public hospital. The 140-bed facility will provide sub-acute services including rehabilitation, mental health, and dementia care. The project will include space for the University's transdisciplinary Health Research Institute.

Ground was broken in March of 2015 on the $47 million Shriners Hospital for Children Medical Center in Lexington. The five-story, 110,000-sf facility is sited on the campus of the University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare will lease the top two floors to provide clinical space for ophthalmology. Shriners’ pediatric orthopaedic services will be housed in 60,000 sf on the first three floors. The medical center will provide 20 patient exam rooms, a motion analysis lab, two surgical suites, and rehabilitation facilities.

With its new Johnson Center for Science and Community Life, North Park University has embarked on a unique effort to combine STEM education with student life. The building contains all science classrooms—biology, chemistry, physics, math, engineering, psychology, and general science—plus all aspects of student engagement.

Brigham Young University-Idaho began constructing the 108,000-sf Science and Technology Building in Rexburg in March of 2015. Designed by CRSA of Salt Lake City, the three-story facility will provide classrooms, labs, and faculty offices for the Departments of Animal and Food Science, Applied Plant Science, Computer Information Technology, and Computer Science and Electrical Engineering. The general contractor for the project is Headwaters Construction. Completion is expected in fall of 2016.

The University of Illinois is planning to construct the Carle-Illinois College of Medicine in Urbana. Developed in partnership with Carle Health System, the project will be the nation’s first engineering-based medical school and will support a progressive pedagogy designed to foster innovation. This ground-breaking approach will integrate the University’s assets in engineering, technology, and supercomputing with Carle’s comprehensive health care resources. 

The University of Arkansas will begin construction in mid-2015 on the $16.3 million Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville. Designed by WER Architects, the 60,000-sf facility will provide multidisciplinary laboratories and greenhouses for plant and animal science as well as water quality research. The project will include a 300-seat auditorium and administrative offices for the UA Agricultural Experiment Station. The general contractor for the facility is Nabholz Construction.

George Washington University opened the $275 million Science and Engineering Hall in March of 2015 in Washington, D.C. Located on the Foggy Bottom campus, the 500,000-sf interdisciplinary facility provides classrooms, integrated core facilities, and collaborative research spaces. Designed by Ballinger, the facility houses laboratories for biomedical engineering, nanofabrication, molecular genetics, imaging, and environmental engineering. The three-story high bay lab will support structural testing for large-scale construction components.

Johns Hopkins University’s 105,000-sf Undergraduate Teaching Labs (UTL) replace outdated, dispersed facilities with a single building that increases collaboration across scientific disciplines and offers a new model for research and education. The visually stunning UTL collocates all teaching laboratories for the departments of biology, chemistry, neuroscience, and biophysics, with a shared instrument core. The facility also contains dedicated “project labs” that provide a platform for undergraduate students to participate in actual research.

Cheyney University, located 25 miles west of Philadelphia and founded in 1837 as the Institute of Colored Youth (ICY), is the oldest of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities in America. The state-of-the-art Science Center, the first new academic building constructed on campus in 35 years, houses chemistry, biology, physics, and computer laboratories; seminar and lecture rooms; faculty offices; classrooms for the University’s Department of Natural and Applied Sciences; a planetarium; and an external greenhouse.

Magellan Aerospace opened the $3.3 million Advanced Satellite Integration Facility (ASIF) in March of 2015 in Winnipeg. Created in partnership with the University of Manitoba, the 6,000-sf project will support advanced satellite research and development, including construction and testing of systems and components. The ISO class 8 cleanroom facility can house up to three satellites in various stages of completion and includes high bay space to accommodate cranes.