Higher Education

Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Medical Research Building IV provides a highly flexible environment for innovative research: Labs are arranged in 22-ft modules with alcoves for specialty uses such as fume hoods and tissue culture rooms. Ceiling-mounted service connections and mobile storage units allow easy reconfiguration of lab benches. The project was the first U.S. application of Venturi-Wedge induction, a highly efficient system to maintain the precise temperatures required in laboratories. This single measure saved approximately $2,400,000 in Phase 1 construction costs.

The Health Sciences Learning Center at the University of Wisconsin supports the evolving needs of education, research, and clinical practice in a unified facility for the Medical, Nursing, and Pharmacy schools.

The heart of the Learning Center is the Ebling Library, which is part of a statewide outreach program to serve both advanced research and public inquiry. The Library administers many other resources in the Center, including seminar, lecture, and distance learning facilities; digital labs, and clinical suites. The Center also provides a campus lounge and bookstore.

Columbia University’s Northwest Corner Building accomplishes several goals the University identified over time: Invest in its natural sciences programs, promote collaboration opportunities within a new building, provide links to other campus buildings, and create campus-wide amenities that would promote student interaction.

Fitchburg State University is building a $57.3 million, 57,000-sf addition to the Condike Science Building in Fitchburg, Mass. The expansion will provide biology and chemistry teaching and research laboratories, classrooms, and support functions. The project was designed by CBT Architects and is being built by BOND of Everett, Mass. The laboratory design consultant was Research Facilities Design (RFD).

The recently opened Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Brisbane, Australia, combines four major research institutes into a single medical and biopharmaceutical research facility where new treatments can be developed, manufactured, and clinically tested in one location, greatly shortening the time between discovery and application.

The 282,000-sf, five-story Energy Environment Experiential Learning (EEEL) building at the University of Calgary provides instructional space for expanded programs in energy and environment; new laboratories for biology, chemistry, and civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering; and space for faculty and staff. With its distinctive glass and aluminum exterior, EEEL creates an impressive front door to the community as the first major University building at the north campus entrance.

Jacksonville University began construction on the $8 million College of Health Sciences in July of 2013. Designed by Dasher Hurst Architects, the 30,000-sf facility will provide flexible classrooms for engaged learning to support progressive medical education pedagogies. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Completion is expected in July of 2014.

The State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) broke ground on the $125 million Computer Chip Commercialization Center in June of 2013. The three-story, 200,000-sf facility will provide research laboratories, classrooms, offices, and a 50,000-sf nanotechnology cleanroom. Located in Marcy, N.Y., the facility is created in partnership with the University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering (CNSE) and will foster collaborative research and development with industry partners.

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.