The Education Greenhouse, a new plant research facility for the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, includes a new 10,000-sf research greenhouse; a new 5,500-sf laboratory for the Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences Department (PSIS); and a renovated 4,500-sf teaching greenhouse.
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee broke ground on the $80 million Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Center in June of 2013. The 92,900-asf (152,200-gsf) facility will provide teaching, research, and office space for the Department of Physics and labs for the School of Public Health. The seven-story building will include one level below grade, one mechanical floor, and a penthouse. Completion is expected in 2015.
Michigan State University broke ground in June of 2013 on the $60.8 million Bio Engineering Facility in East Lansing. The 130,000-sf interdisciplinary building will provide modular open-plan laboratories and offices for faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine, and Natural Science.
Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis is planning to break ground on a $75 million research building in summer of 2013. The 138,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide flexible, open labs for the Center for Genome Sciences & Systems Biology and the departments of medicine, genetics, and developmental biology. The design team includes Goody Clancy of Boston in association with Christner of St. Louis. Clayco is the general contractor. Completion is expected in June of 2015.
Emory University began occupying the $90 million Health Sciences Research Building in Atlanta in June of 2013. Designed by ZGF Architects and built by Brasfield & Gorrie, the 200,000-sf facility provides open labs for research on immunology and vaccines, neurosciences, drug discovery, pediatric health, cancer, gastroenterology, biomedical engineering, and human genetics.
Curtin University (CU) has adopted the InVision FM software platform to maximize savings and increase operational efficiency. InVision FM from PenBay Solutions is helping CU as they embark on a visionary master planning project for the next 100 years of campus growth and development. Based on the Esri® ArcGIS® platform, InVision gives facility managers a better understanding of their facilities through a rich spatial representation and map-based visualization of their assets, spaces, and buildings across a campus, region, or portfolio.
The University of Sydney broke ground in August of 2013 on its new $180 million Business School. Part of the Abercrombie Precinct Project redevelopment, the 366,000-gsf facility will provide five floors of teaching, learning, and administrative facilities, including a 550-seat lecture hall, three 300-seat lecture halls, eight 100-seat case study rooms, and a range of other purpose-designed spaces. The general contractor for the project is John Holland. Completion is expected in early 2015.
Utah Valley University broke ground on a $54 million classroom building in Orem in June of 2013. The five-story, 244,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, lecture halls, faculty offices, and a 1,000-seat auditorium. Completion is expected in December of 2014.
Royal Adelaide Hospital is planning a two-building expansion of its South Australia campus. The first facility will be a seven-story medical school for the University of Adelaide providing advanced instructional space for nursing, health sciences, and possibly dentistry. Construction will begin in 2014 with completion expected in 2016. The second building is a cancer research center housing biomedical laboratories for the University of South Australia and SA Pathology; completion is expected in 2017.
McMaster University is implementing Gold Seal construction management methodology on its 147,000-sf Health Sciences Campus project in Hamilton, Ontario. Integrating industry best practices, the Gold Seal program ensures that all subcontractors with contracts over $100,000 utilize at least one Gold Seal-certified employee in their daily construction operations. The facility was designed by NORR Architects Engineers & Planners and is being built by Ball Construction.
A new 100,000-sf, four-story medical education and research building—coupled with 70,400 sf in renovations to the existing Jones Institute/Lewis Hall/Brickell Library complex and a new landscaped courtyard—has allowed Eastern Virginia Medical School to increase enrollment in the medical doctoral program by 30 percent, to 150 students, and in the physician assistant program by 60 percent.
The University of Nebraska broke ground on the $35 million College of Pharmacy and Center for Drug Discovery in June of 2013. Located at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, the 85,000-sf teaching and research building will provide classrooms, faculty offices, 15 drug discovery labs, a sterile compounding suite, and a model pharmacy for simulation training. The design team includes The Clark Enersen Partners and RDG Planning & Design.
Southern Illinois University is building the $9.5 million Multidisciplinary Dental Simulation Laboratory in Alton. The 18,000-sf addition will provide 60 simulation units as well as an imaging suite, casting and dispensing areas, and a ceramic reconstruction room for the School of Dental Medicine. Construction began on the project in October of 2012 and occupancy is expected in spring of 2014.
The University at Albany opened a $9.4 million biomedical laboratory in June of 2013. Accommodating 60 researchers, the collaborative 15,000-sf facility provides five 1,000-sf labs, advanced imaging equipment, and glass-walled offices for the RNA Institute. The project was built by AOW Associates with fully mobile lab benches for ease of reconfiguration. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which features a heat recovery system, sophisticated building controls, and abundant natural light.
Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences at UC Berkeley serves about 450 researchers in the fields of cancer biology, infectious diseases, neurodegenerative diseases, and stem cell biology. They are pursuing a multi-disciplinary approach to studying the molecular basis of these illnesses in order to research the root causes of diseases such as cancer, HIV, tuberculosis, and Alzheimer’s.
