Higher Education

University of Kentucky officials are using a new digital construction information management tool to manage over 30 active projects totaling approximately $800 million. The Web-based eCommunication system designed by Lynn Imaging was adopted as the University enters a significant capital development phase, with projects including a major expansion and upgrading of the Student Center, a modernization to Commonwealth Stadium, a state-of-the-art science classroom and lab facility, and interior fit-out of the new University Patient Care Facility.

Lycoming College is constructing the Lynn Science Center in Willliamsport, Pa. The three-story, 26,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs, classrooms, faculty offices, student lounges, an atrium, and a planetarium. Housing the departments of astronomy, biology, chemistry, and physics, the project is designed to foster interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration. The facility will be built adjoining the existing Heim Biology and Chemistry Building to provide almost 90,000 sf of instructional space.

Indiana University is partnering with Ivy Tech Community College to build the 133,500-sf Arts and Sciences building in Gary, Ind. Supported by $45 million in state funding, the shared three-story facility will accommodate IU Northwest's fine and performing arts programs as well as teaching labs for Ivy Tech's science curriculum. The project will also include a 500-seat performance venue, a black box theater, shared classrooms, meeting rooms, informal study space, and departmental and administrative offices. Occupancy is expected in 2017.

Murray State University will begin building the $36.6 million Breathitt Veterinary Center in September of 2014 in Hopkinsville, Ky. Designed by Foil Wyatt Architects & Planners, the 61,000-sf facility will open in 2016. Additionally, work will begin in February of 2015 on the $36.8 million Engineering and Physics building; completion is slated for August of 2016.

St. John Fisher College broke ground on the $14 million Integrated Science and Health Sciences Building in July of 2014 in Rochester, N.Y. The collaborative 31,000-sf facility will provide two multipurpose labs, two 100-seat flexible classrooms, science teaching labs, faculty offices, and interdisciplinary research space. The building will also include core facilities for tissue culture, nanobiology, and aquatic research. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the project and occupancy is slated for fall of 2015.

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.