Higher Education

The University of New Mexico’s Science and Math Learning Center was awarded Gold sustainable design certification in the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Schools rating system in October of 2011. The LEED for Schools rating system is unique among other LEED programs as it addresses core learning areas and requires higher performance standards for air quality, acoustics, daylighting, and thermal comfort. Van H.

Purdue University Calumet opened the newly renovated Center for Innovation through Visualization and Simulation in October of 2011. The 6,300-sf multidisciplinary research center is located on the first floor of the Powers Computer Education Building on the Calumet campus in Hammond, Ind. The $2.7 million renovation and expansion project provides updated simulation and visualization labs, including an immersive research theater and a 3D virtual classroom.

Bishop Fenwick Place, Xavier University’s new residential and dining complex, was dedicated in September of 2011 in Cincinnati. Designed by Shepley Bulfinch, Fenwick Place is home to 535 sophomores with suite-style living in four connected wings that rise above a green terrace. The terrace also serves as the roof of Hoff Dining Commons, the university’s new central dining facility. The new Commons seats up to 700 and a retail component with seating spills onto the patio outside.

Commonwealth Medical College dedicated the $115 million Medical Science Building in October of 2011. Located in Scranton, Pa., the four-story, 183,000-sf facility comprises two wings, one housing research space and the other for academic instruction. The building features 35 medical research labs, 24 small-group teaching rooms, a 250-seat auditorium, lecture halls, simulation suites for medical training, and a gross anatomy lab with 21 air changes per hour. Construction began on the project in February of 2009.

The University of British Columbia broke ground on the $68.8 million Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health in October of 2011. Located at UBC Hospital in Vancouver, the six-story translational facility will support advanced neuroscience research, teaching, and clinical care. The center will include a collaboration atrium called the Synapse Garden and a repository for DNA and brain tissue. The Centre for Brain Health is being created in partnership with Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute.

The University of Illinois broke ground in October of 2011 on the $95 million Electrical and Computer Engineering Building in Urbana. The six-story, 232,000-sf facility will house advanced classrooms, labs, and equipment suites for interdisciplinary research in energy, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computing, and communications. Designed by SmithGroup of Chicago, the project will enable UI to consolidate programs currently housed in several locations.

Oregon State University opened the $62.5 million Linus Pauling Science Center in Corvallis in October of 2011. The 105,000-sf teaching and research facility features flexible 24-person lab modules and a 180-seat multimedia auditorium. The center houses the Linus Pauling Institute which promotes the study of micronutrients, vitamins, and phytochemicals for disease prevention. The facility also provides research space for the Department of Chemistry, including a cleanroom and an imaging suite with magnetic resonance and electron microscopy instrumentation.

Texas A&M University opened the Building Information Modeling Computer-Aided Virtual Environment (BIM CAVE) in October of 2011 in College Station. Located on the fourth floor of the Department of Construction Science's Langford Architecture Center, the laboratory enables students and researchers to explore building systems with an array of twelve 46-inch monitors for immersive visualization. 

The University of Minnesota broke ground on an $83 million physics and nanotechnology building in Minneapolis in October of 2011. The 60,000-sf building will house 40 laboratories for the College of Science and Engineering and a 5,000-sf cleanroom. Completion is expected in November of 2013.

Marquette University opened the $50 million Engineering Hall in October of 2011 in Milwaukee. The five-story, 115,000-sf facility houses 38 laboratories, offices, common areas, and a two-story materials and structural testing lab. Functioning as a living laboratory, Engineering Hall includes over 100 sensors to measure temperature, humidity, and electricity use to support instruction in building management and construction science. Ground was broken on the facility in spring of 2010.

The University of Tennessee will open the $37.5 Min Kao Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Building in Knoxville in October of 2011. The 150,000-sf facility provides 19 teaching labs, 15 research labs, two lecture halls, and faculty offices. The University also broke ground on the John Tickle Engineering Building in September of 2011; the duration of construction will be approximately 18 months. 

Drexel University opened the $49.7 million Constantine Papadakis Integrated Sciences Building in October of 2011 in Philadelphia. The 138,000-sf facility provides 39 research and teaching labs for biology, chemistry, and biomedical engineering. The building also houses classrooms, lecture halls, a 230-seat auditorium, and collaborative space. The project's central feature is a five-story biowall in the atrium that serves as a living air filter. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Bucknell University will build the $22 million Academic West facility on its Lewisburg campus. The three-story, 70,000-sf building will house classrooms, labs, offices, interaction space, and 59 faculty offices. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Construction will begin in 2012 with completion expected in 2013. 

California State University, Long Beach opened the $105 million Hall of Science in late September of 2011. Housing the departments of biological sciences, chemistry and biochemistry, astronomy, geology, physics, and science education, the 165,000-sf facility houses 31 directed studies laboratories, 29 teaching labs, lecture halls, and a learning center. Ground was broken on the project in 2008. Partial funding for the Hall of Science was provided by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. 

The City University of New York (CUNY) has awarded Skanska USA Building a $373 million contract to complete the final phase of the Advanced Science Research Campus in Manhattan. The project includes interior fit-out of 400,000 sf, comprising a four-story City College of New York building, a five-story Advanced Science and Research Center building, and a shared ground floor plaza. The contract also includes development of advanced imaging facilities, a cleanroom, a vivarium, an auditorium, office space, and mechanical and loading dock areas.