The College of DuPage is planning to build a $50 million teaching facility in Glen Ellyn, Ill. Providing between 75,000 to 100,000 sf of instructional space, the project will feature two 50-seat science classrooms, four 25-seat computer classrooms, a computer lab, and other learning areas. The building will also house faculty offices, a student commons, and a multipurpose room.
Bertelsmeyer Hall, a new facility for chemical and biological engineering under construction on the campus of Missouri University of Science and Technology, combines lab and specialized research space in one wing, with classrooms and offices in a separate wing. "Segregating the classrooms and offices from the labs allows us to make a lot of interesting decisions, including a completely different structural system. Identifying the impact of the specialty research spaces is key, and on this project it really drives how the building is shaped and how the spaces interact,” says Andy Stepp, senior principal with The Clark Enersen Partners, the Kansas City firm that designed the building.
The University of Bristol has completed construction on its $92 million Life Sciences building in the United Kingdom. Designed by Sheppard Robson, the 145,000-sf facility provides the School of Biological Sciences with teaching labs, seminar rooms, and offices arranged around a central atrium. A five-story research wing accommodates cleanrooms, imaging suites, labs, acoustic chambers, and greenhouse space. BREAM Excellent sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which features a 41-ft tall living wall.
The University of Nevada, Reno opened its expanded Earthquake Engineering Laboratory in June of 2014. Supporting advanced materials science research, the seismic research facility features four shake tables to simulate ground motions, a computer control room, offices, and a technology-rich 140-seat auditorium. Designed by BJG Architecture + Engineering, the $19 million expansion doubles the size of the existing 8,400-sf Large-Scale Structures Lab and features a heavily reinforced foundation and building envelope.
The University of Notre Dame is planning to build the $36 million Turbomachinery Facility in collaboration with General Electric, Indiana Michigan Power, and other industry partners in South Bend, Ind. Supporting the development of advanced gas turbine engine technologies, the 43,000-sf research and testing center will feature full-scale simulated operating environments including a $7.5 million, 10-megawatt jet propulsion engine rig.
Louisiana State University is planning a $100 million expansion and renovation of the College of Engineering in Baton Rouge. The renovation of the three-story, 306,000-sf Patrick F. Taylor Hall will begin in November of 2014. In January of 2015, construction will commence on a 126,000-sf expansion providing engineering wet labs, teaching and research labs, faculty offices, classrooms, student support areas, and a 200-seat auditorium. The general contractor is Skanska USA Building in joint venture with MAPP Construction.
The University of Wyoming will begin construction in early 2015 on the $30 million High Bay Research Facility in Laramie. The 60,000-sf project will provide flexible, large-scale research space for advanced engineering experiments and will include a geomechanics lab, a core-flood suite, a structural engineering lab, and possibly a wind tunnel. The High Bay Research Facility will also house offices, conference rooms, and smaller conventional laboratories.
Rutgers University broke ground in June of 2014 on the $115 million Chemistry and Chemical Biology Building. Designed by Flad Architects, the four-story, 145,000-sf facility is sited on the Busch campus in Piscataway, N.J., and will support multidisciplinary collaboration with integrated teaching, research, and support space. Core facilities will include a microscopy suite, a class 100 chemistry cleanroom, and labs for optical spectroscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography.
The Center for Sustainable Landscapes (CSL), Phase III of a major expansion to Pittsburgh’s Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, is on course to be the first building in the world awarded certification as both LEED Platinum and a Four-Stars Sustainable Site (SITES), both of which were obtained in 2013, as well as Living Building Certification. It was certified as a Net-Zero Energy Building in 2014.
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital will begin construction in summer of 2014 on a $40 million research and teaching building in Liverpool, U.K. Designed by Hopkins Architects, the 75,000-sf, three-story project will provide research and teaching labs, offices, meeting rooms, lecture halls, breakout spaces, and a library. Comprising two wings adjoining a curved central atrium, the flexible facility will feature a corridor-free interior to encourage interaction and collaboration.
Central Washington University is building the $64 million Science II facility in Ellensburg, Wash. Ground was broken on the five-story, 120,000-sf project in May of 2014 and completion is expected in spring of 2016. Accommodating the departments of geological sciences and physics as well as programs in math and astronomy, the facility will feature an 80-seat lecture hall and planetarium, an observatory tower, optics and laser labs, an ice core lab, and an acoustic lab with an anechoic chamber.
Bay Path College is building the Center for Graduate Studies in Health Sciences in East Longmeadow, Mass. The $16 million facility will provide classrooms, laboratories, training rooms, faculty offices, conference rooms, and administrative space. Construction began on the two-story, 56,000-sf facility in November of 2013 and completion is expected in early 2015.
The 268,000-sf, six-story Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB) incorporates the College of Medicine and Pharmacy from the Arizona School of Medicine with Northern Arizona University’s physician assistant, physical therapy, and occupational therapy programs into the integrated and interdisciplinary Phoenix Biomedical Campus. A 2-million-sf, 28-acre campus master plan includes a recently constructed 20,000-sf underground vivarium, and several research buildings. To the north is a cancer center, which adds a clinical component.
The master plan for Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) in Portland, Ore., offers valuable lessons in how public-private partnership and well-tended relationships with neighboring developments can overcome significant growth constraints. The university found ways to eke out space and funding for new buildings and programs where little seemed to be available.
Princeton University is building the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment in Princeton, N.J. Designed by Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects of New York as three interconnected structures, the 129,000-gsf interdisciplinary facility will feature a cleanroom, teaching labs, classrooms, offices, a lecture hall, conference rooms, and low-vibration labs for nanotechnology research and imaging. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which is slated for completion in 2015.
