Higher Education

Ryerson University has selected EllisDon to build the $112 million Student Learning Centre in Toronto. Construction will begin on the eight-story, 155,463-sf building in early 2012. Designed by Snøhetta Architects and Zeidler Partnership Architects, the seven-story transparent glass structure will provide open environments for group learning. Connecting to Ryerson’s adjacent library, the building will include ground-level retail and 2,000 study spaces. Completion is expected in winter of 2014. 

The University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences is building a new campus in Austin, Texas. Sited on 27.7 acres, the project includes two buildings providing 80,000 sf of classroom and laboratory space. The campus will also include a library, faculty and administrative offices, and student lounges. The auditorium-style classrooms are designed to promote collaboration and interaction with a variety of learning technologies. The general contractor is Hardin Construction Company. Completion is expected in June of 2012. 

Virginia Tech opened the $105 million Infectious Disease Research Facility at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg in November of 2011. Construction began on the 16,000-sf BSL-2  facility in August of 2010. Also under construction is the $14.1 million, 33,000-sf Veterinary Medicine Instructional Addition. Work began on the building in July of 2011 and occupancy is expected in August of 2012. The facility will house faculty offices, teaching labs, and flexible instructional space.

Mid-South Community College's Renewable Energy Center will open in January of 2012 in Memphis, Ark. The 35,000-sf facility will support education and training for the sustainable energy industry. The $9 million building will house five classrooms, a 200-seat lecture hall, a chemistry lab, and a biofuel research and production facility.

Wilfrid Laurier University has broken ground on the $103 million Global Innovation Exchange in Waterloo, Ontario. Housing the School of Business and Economics and the Department of Math, the 215,000-sf facility will feature a 1,000-seat auditorium and seven lecture halls. Designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, faculty offices will be dispersed throughout the building instead of clustered by department. Classrooms will also be shared by all three programs. Occupancy is expected in 2014. 

The University of North Carolina will break ground on the $37 million PORTAL building in Charlotte in December of 2011. Housing the Charlotte Research Institute, the 95,000-sf project will house flexible research and development space, the Ben Craig Center business incubator, and a 10,000-sf information security facility. The construction manager for the project is Edifice of Charlotte. Occupancy is expected by early 2014.

Algonquin College opened the $79 million Centre for Construction Excellence in Ottawa in November of 2011. Designed by Diamond + Schmitt Architects in collaboration with Edward J. Cuhaci and Associates, the 190,000-sf facility provides classrooms, studios, laboratories, and shops. The project is designed to function as a teaching laboratory for sustainable construction and comprises a five-story tower and a two-story wing.

Yeshiva University's Einstein College of Medicine opened the Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory in New York in November of 2011. The mission of the Cognitive Neurophysiology Lab is to understand how the brain function of individuals with disorders such as autism, attention deficit disorder, and childhood schizophrenia differs from that of their peers. The facility includes a new 5,000-sf lab with specialized rooms that allow researchers to control sound and other stimuli.

The Joint School of Nanoscience & Nanoengineering (JSNN) opened in Greensboro, N.C., in November of 2011. The $64 million project was created collaboratively by North Carolina A&T State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The facility was built by a joint venture of Samet Corp., Barton Mallow, and SRS Inc.

The US Green Building Council awarded LEED certification to Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven Hospital in November of 2011. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch and completed in 2010, Smilow’s sustainable features include optimum circulation of natural light in its lobbies, corridors and waiting areas; use of occupancy sensors in non-patient spaces; pumps with variable speed drives; and room pressure monitors to reduce power usage for enhanced air supply.

The University of Queensland began building the $30 million Global Change Institute in November of 2011. Located in St Lucia, the energy and environmental science research facility will be certified by the Living Building Challenge for sustainable design. The building will be carbon and water neutral and will feature a passive heating and cooling system, a pneumatic roof, and an atrium with a living wall and a waterfall.

The University of Glasgow is building the $14 million Beatson Translational Research Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. The four-story facility will provide laboratories for cancer research. Balfour Beatty Engineering Services is the mechanical and electrical services contractor. The building will feature a high efficiency chiller and air handling units with Econet heat recovery packages. The plant skids and modular risers will be manufactured offsite to support lean construction methodology. Completion is expected in summer of 2012.

The University of Newcastle opened two buildings on its Central Coast campus in Ourimbah, New South Wales, in November of 2011. The $4.8 million Education and Nursing building houses classrooms, a nursing simulation lab, information technology teaching spaces, and model education classrooms. The $7.7 Exercise and Sport Science building will house sports psychology research and teaching space, laboratories, three classrooms, and a gym. 

Auburn University broke ground on the $28.8 million Center for Advanced Science, Innovation and Commerce in November of 2011. The 84,000-sf collaborative facility will provide 20 labs for the study of bioenergy, genomics, information science, food safety, water quality, and environmental health. The project is supported by $14.4 million in funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology with matching funds from the state of Alabama. Completion is expected in summer of 2013.

Binghamton University opened the $66 million Engineering and Science Building in November of 2011. Located in Vestal, N.Y., the two-story, 125,000-sf building houses the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The facility provides flexible teaching and research labs and business incubator space for the development of industry partnerships.