Higher Education

The University of Vermont is renovating the George D. Aiken Center in Burlington. Housing the School of Natural Resources, the $13 million project features an insulated building envelope, natural lighting and ventilation, a green roof, a natural wastewater treatment system, and local building materials. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the 40,000-sf teaching and research facility. Construction began on the project in September of 2010 with occupancy expected in early 2011.

Sydney University of Technology will begin construction in early 2012 on a $150 million facility for the School of Business. The 11-story Dr. Chau Chak Wing Building was designed by Frank Gehry of Gehry Partners. Completion is expected in summer of 2014.

Eastern Michigan University will open a $90 million addition to its Science Complex in January of 2011. Located in Ypsilanti, Mich., the five-story, 80,000-sf facility features a planetarium classroom and 36 science labs for biology, chemistry, geography, geology, physics, astronomy, and psychology. The 180,000-sf Mark Jefferson building will also be renovated. The project team includes architect Lord, Aeck & Sargent, general contractor Christman Company, and program manager DMJM.

The Oregon University System plans to begin building the $170 million Life Sciences Collaborative Complex in mid-2011. The facility will be located on Oregon Health & Science University's Schnitzer Campus along the Willamette River in Portland. Design-build services for the project will be provided by J.E. Dunn Construction of Kansas City, Mo. Housing collaborative teaching and research facilities, the complex will promote the development of industry partnerships with bioscience, medical device, and pharmaceutical companies.

The University of Prince Edward Island is building a $10.8 million facility to house the School of Nursing and the Department of Family and Nutritional Sciences in Charlottetown. The 3,510-sm project will provide seven clinical nursing rooms, 12 nursing labs, critical care rooms, classrooms, graduate research labs, and offices. Construction began on the facility in September of 2010 with completion is expected in fall of 2011.

The University of California, San Francisco is building the 230,000-sf Cardiovascular Research Building in San Francisco's Mission Bay development. Featuring integrated clinical and research space, the facility will house labs, offices, a 35,000-sf vivarium, and an outpatient clinic. The translational research building was designed by SmithGroup and Jim Jennings Architecture. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) were implemented in the planning and development of the project.

UGL Services, a division of UGL Limited, was selected by Brevard College in December of 2010 to provide integrated facilities services. The renewable contract extends to June of 2015. The 35-person UGL Services staff provides custodial, housekeeping, landscaping and athletics field maintenance, and building operations and maintenance, as well as renovation and construction services for the 650-student campus that includes 38 buildings and covers 120 acres.

College of the Holy Cross attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification for the $64 million Integrated Science Complex in December of 2010. Located in Worcester, Mass., the four-story facility consists of the Park B. and Linda Smith Laboratories, a new four-story building, and the renovated Haberlin Hall. The project includes numerous features that produce an energy savings of more than 52% in cooling and 39% in heating, lowering total energy consumption by more than 31% over industry standard baseline. Other energy efficient and sustainability features include:

The University of Wisconsin will begin construction in 2012 on a second research park in Madison. The project will create 4 million sf of laboratory and technology space. The mixed-use development will include residential and retail space in an innovative urban setting.

The Catholic College of Mandeville broke ground in December of 2010 on a $400 million campus in Williamsfield, Jamaica. The facility is sited on 11 acres and will provide state-of-the-art classrooms for 2,000 students.

The University of Chicago will initiate construction on the $215 million William Eckhardt Research Center in September of 2011. The 265,000-sf facility will provide laboratories for astronomy, chemistry, physics, and astrophysics. Supporting advanced nanoscale reseach and development, the seven-story project will house the Institute for Molecular Engineering and will include two floors below ground. The Institute for Molecular Engineering will be operated in partnership with Argonne National Laboratory.

The University of Texas at Arlington completed the $126 million Engineering Research Building in December of 2010. The 234,000-gsf facility houses classrooms, research and teaching labs, a science and engineering library, collaboration space, faculty offices, and space for the departments of biomedical engineering and computer science. The project was designed by Page Southerland Page with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as laboratory design consultant.

The University of Iowa is engaged in a $60 million expansion of its Dental Science Building in Iowa City. The 33,000-sf project will house the Center for Clinical Excellence and offices for geriatric dentistry and endodontics. The general contractor is Larson Construction of Independence, Iowa. Completion is expected in fall of 2011.

The University of Alberta will build a $26.5 million stem cell research facility in Edmonton. Supported by $10.6 million in funding from the Canada Foundation for Innovation, the 10,000-sf regenerative medicine laboratory will be located on the seventh floor of the Li Ka Shing Centre for Health Research Innovation. Completion is expected in 2013.

The $32.9 million Wayne T. and Mary T. Hockmeyer Hall was recently constructed at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. The building gives Purdue’s renowned Structural Biology group the space needed to continue to be at the forefront of this field. The 65,690-sf facility includes research laboratories and a BSL-3 suite with embedded electron microscopy.