Higher Education

Cornell University is partnering with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology to build a $2 billion science college in New York City. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the 2.1 million-sf research and innovation campus is to be located on Roosevelt Island and will include classrooms, labs, auditoriums, and housing. Classes will begin in 2012 in leased facilities, with occupancy of the first phase of construction expected in 2017. Complete build-out is expected by 2027. 

Texas Tech completed construction of the $70 million Rawls College of Business Administration in December of 2011. Located in Lubbock, Texas, the 147,500-sf facility provides technology-rich group learning spaces to support a pedagogy based on teamwork in business. The building includes classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, student services, and faculty offices. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2009 and full occupancy is expected in spring of 2012. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

The University of South Carolina School of Medicine is building the 90,000-sf Health Sciences Education Building in Greenville. The architect for the building was Design Strategies, and CO Architects and McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture designed the building fit-up . Contractors involved in the project include Rodgers Construction; SteelFab; and Warco Construction. Completion is expected in July of 2012.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s $112 million biochemistry complex was completed in December of 2011. A new six-story research tower was constructed and several existing buildings were extensively renovated. Designed to promote interaction and collaboration, the facility provides 20 biochemistry and biomolecular chemistry research labs, classrooms, lecture halls, and a rodent vivarium. 

Louisiana State University broke ground on the $20 million Animal and Food Sciences Laboratory Building in December of 2011 in Baton Rouge. Designed to promote interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration, the two-story, 48,000-sf building will house laboratories and offices for the departments of Veterinary Science, Food Science, and Animal Sciences. Construction will begin in January of 2012 with completion expected by summer of 2013.

Okanagan College opened the $28 million Jim Pattison Centre of Excellence in Sustainable Building Technologies and Renewable Energy Conservation in December of 2011. Located in Penticton, British Columbia, the zero-energy, zero-waste facility features the largest photovoltaic solar array on a non-utility building in Canada. Supporting education, research, and training in sustainable design, the building includes interactive instrumentation for the monitoring of building systems. The facility also houses the Okanagan Research and Innovation Centre. 

Rush University Medical Center opened a $654 million hospital in Chicago in December of 2011. Designed by Perkins+Will, the 14-story, 806,000-sf tower houses the Mary Jo and John Boler Center for Advanced Imaging, an emergency department with 60 treatment bays, 42 technology-rich procedure rooms, and the McCormick Foundation Center for Advanced Emergency Response. Construction began on the 304-bed facility in fall of 2008. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Glasgow College is planning $315 million in new facilities in downtown Glasgow in the United Kingdom. The project comprises 650,000 sf of new buildings to create the City Centre Campus, as well as extensive redevelopment and expansion of the Riverside Campus. Construction is expected to begin in summer of 2013 and reach completion by 2016. 

Colorado State University will begin construction in June of 2012 on a $19.5 million renovation of the Animal Sciences Building in Fort Collins. Plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications systems will be replaced in the 41,558-sf building, which will house renovated teaching labs and classrooms.

The University of Arizona will begin building a $135 million cancer center in summer of 2012. Part of UA's Phoenix Biomedical Campus, the facility will be a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center. The six-story, 250,000-sf clinical and translational research building will be operated in partnership with St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center. Completion is expected in mid-2014. 

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee initiated a $53 million renovation and expansion in December of 2011 to create a new facility for the School of Freshwater Sciences. Construction will begin by May of 2012 and reach completion by November of 2013. The existing Great Lakes WATER Institute will be remodeled and expanded to house ecological research laboratories and offices. 

Marshall University is planning a $100 million expansion of its campus in Huntington, W.V. The project includes a technology-rich classroom building, an applied engineering complex, a biotechnology incubator, a fine arts incubator, a parking structure, and an athletics complex including a sports medicine translational research facility. Construction will begin in January of 2012.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology opened the Energy Systems and Nuclear Science Research Centre (ERC) in November of 2011 in Oshawa. The 100,000-sf building provides space for instruction, training, and research in nuclear engineering and sustainable energy development. The $45.4 million facility houses administrative and faculty offices, research and teaching labs, a 72-seat lecture hall, a four-story atrium, and study space. Construction began on the project in November of 2009 and reached completion in August of 2011.

Skanska and joint venture partner MAPP Construction have been awarded a $522 million contract to build phase one of the new University Medical Center in New Orleans for the State of Louisiana. Designed by NBBJ, the $1.2 billion project includes a 560,000-sf, 424-bed teaching hospital and a 746,982-sf diagnosis and treatment center. Ground was broken on the project in April of 2011 and occupancy is expected in February of 2015.

Princeton University opened the High Performance Computing Center on its Forrestal Campus in Plainsboro in November of 2011. The two-story, 46,765-sf building provides a computing area, a data center, mechanical and electrical support space, and offices. The facility also houses the Terrascale Infrastructure for Groundbreaking Research in Engineering and Science (TIGRESS) Center. The project team included architect Gensler of San Francisco, engineer AKF Group of Boston, and project manager CS Technology.