Higher Education

The University of Rochester is transforming the traditional approach to teaching experimental chemistry with a recent fast-track remodel of 40-year-old undergraduate instructional labs in Hutchison Hall. The new ultra-green $1.5 million facility—which went from conception to completion in six months—is designed to maximize safety and learning with an unprecedented focus on collaborative space and state-of-the art multimedia capabilities.

The University of Florida (UF) opened the $53 million Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona in Orlando in October of 2012. Housing biomedical research laboratories and instructional space for the College of Pharmacy and the College of Medicine, the 106,000-sf facility also houses the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Center for Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology, the Institute of Therapeutic Innovation, and the Institute on Aging. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2010.

The University of Nebraska is planning to build a $370 million cancer research facility in Omaha. The project will include a hospital tower, inpatient and outpatient clinics, and biomedical research labs. Construction is expected to begin in November of 2013 and reach completion in April of 2016. 

The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is planning to build the 83,000-sf Bureau of Geology Building in Socorro. Designed by Van Gilbert, the three-story facility will include flexible, double-loaded labs, office space, and a museum. The laboratory design consultant for the project is RFD (Research Facilities Design). 

Tradeline asked 120 individuals representing 98 research organizations to prioritize their areas of focus for 2013 and to make open-ended comments regarding those priorities. The priorities identified in this survey will be the focus of Tradeline's upcoming conference: The 2013 International Conference on Biocontainment Facilities on March 18-19, 2013, in San Diego.

The respondents’ overall priorities are:

1. Pressure and airflow control

2. Maintenance/operations requirements and processes

3. People, teams, and competency

Ri.Med is planning to build the $269 million Biomedical Research and Biotechnology Center (BRBC) near Palermo, Italy. The 334,000-sf translational research facility will be a global hub for biomedical R&D and will be managed by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Designed by HOK as a research village, the center will provide modular, flexible laboratory space divided into four wings on three floors.

The Pennsylvania State University will begin construction in January of 2013 on the $58.5 million Health and Human Development Building in University Park. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the project includes construction of a 77,800-sf facility and renovation of 35,000 sf in the existing Henderson Building South. The ground level will have 31 research offices and four labs and observation rooms for the Department of Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS), along with a 90-seat general classroom.

Georgia Health Sciences University broke ground on the $76.5 million J. Harold Harrison M.D. Education Commons in November of 2012. Designed by HOK, the 172,000-sf facility will provide a 26,620-sf simulation lab, classrooms, group study spaces, and offices for the Medical College of Georgia and the College of Dental Medicine. The general contractor for the project is Skanska USA Building and the value of the construction contract is $62 million. LEED certification will be sought for the facility.

Leiden University will begin construction in May of 2013 on the $49 million Bèta Campus for the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences in Leiden, Netherlands. The 484,380-sf facility will provide laboratories, lecture halls, offices, and an underground parking structure. General contractor Heijmans will use BIM (Building Information Modeling) in the construction process; completion is expected in September of 2015. BREEAM 'Very Good' sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which will feature an advanced HVAC system.  

The University of Western Ontario opened the 12,000-sf Fraunhofer Project Centre for Composites Research in November of 2012 in London, Ontario. Located in the Advanced Manufacturing Park, the $25 million facility provides an industry-scale production environment for developing, testing, validating, and characterizing new lightweight materials and advanced manufacturing processes. The center features a Dieffenbacher material press with a clamping force of 2,500 tons. 

Despite years of planning, in-depth professional experience, and multiple layers of oversight, things often do not work as planned at biocontainment laboratories. Even when they meet all safety and security requirements, facilities may run into unexpected life cycle costs which only become evident after a year or two of occupancy and operation, says Tim Mandrell, DVM, director of lab animal care for the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHTC) Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. Knowing what problems to look and prepare for can help minimize costly facility downtime.

The University at Albany is planning to build the 200,000-sf Zero-Energy Nanotechnology (ZEN) building. A request for proposals was issued in November of 2012 with responses due by January 4, 2013. The cost of the facility is estimated at $80 million. Acting as a living laboratory, the ZEN building will provide labs, classrooms, and offices for clean energy research as well as housing the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium. The facility will have a net energy consumption of zero while supporting a robust technological infrastructure.

The $168 million Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center opened in November of 2012 in Holyoke. Representing a partnership of MIT, Harvard, Boston University, Northeastern University, and the University of Massachusetts, the collaborative 90,000-sf data center supports computational research, software development, and the creation of exascale computer technology. Exascale computing systems would be capable of reaching at least one exaflops, representing a thousandfold increase over petascale systems.

Texas Tech is building the $22.8 million Petroleum Engineering and Research Building in Lubbock. Designed by Kirksey Architecture, the 40,000-sf facility will provide research laboratories and classrooms for the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, including the unconventional technology center; a fracturing techniques suite; a fluids lab; a reservoir simulation center and drilling lab; a rheology lab; and a pressure volume temperature lab. The building will also house the Apache Upstream Research Center.

The University of North Carolina dedicated the $76 million Energy Production and Infrastructure Center in November of 2012 in Charlotte. Designed by Narmour Wright Creech Architects, the 200,000-sf teaching and research facility houses the departments of Electrical Engineering and Civil and Environmental Engineering. The collaborative four-story building provides classrooms, offices, laboratories, and high bay space. General contractor Turner Construction broke ground on the project in February of 2010.