Higher Education

Midwestern State University opened the expanded and renovated Fowler Hall in Wichita Falls, Texas, in July of 2009. Housing the McCoy School of Engineering, the 23,000-sf academic building provides classrooms, department and faculty offices, study pods, and engineering research facilities. The project was designed by SHW Group of Dallas and features three high bay labs as well as labs for physics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, machine dynamics, measurement and instrumentation, fluid power, and materials science. Jose I.

Christopher Newport University is building a $31.2 million academic building in Newport News, Va. Construction began on the 138,500-sf McMurran Hall in mid-2008 with occupancy expected in January of 2010. Other campus projects include a $26.1 million renovation and expansion of Freeman Center and the construction of a new science building housing the departments of biology, chemistry, and environmental science.

Pennsylvania State University celebrated the opening of the $121 million Hershey Cancer Institute on June 26, 2009. The 176,000-sf facility is located on the Hershey Medical Center Campus in University Park, Pa. Designed by Payette of Boston, the translational research facility integrates clinical treatment and medical research. The project team included associate architect Array Healthcare Facilities Solutions, construction manager Gilbane Building, and MEP engineer Bard, Rao + Athanas (BR+A).

Oakland University is planning to build the $62 million Human Health Building in Rochester, Mich. Housing the departments of nursing and health sciences, the five-story, 160,000-sf facility is slated for completion in 2012. The Human Health Building will include classrooms, seminar rooms, an interactive media center, physical therapy clinics, simulation labs, clinical labs, computer labs, and distance learning facilities. The project architect is SmithGroup of Detroit.

Princeton University is building a 236,000-sf, four-story chemistry building in Princeton, N.J. Replacing existing chemistry facilities, the building will house teaching and research labs, department offices, lecture halls, and an auditorium. The sustainably-designed facility will feature self-closing fume hoods, photovoltaic panels, and advanced HVAC systems. The project team includes Hopkins Architects, Payette, and Turner Construction.

University College Dublin is planning to build a €60 million research and innovation facility in Dublin, Ireland. Housing research, teaching, and chemistry laboratories, the 10,000-sm facility will be accompanied by 8,600-sm of renovated space in the existing UCD science center. The project, which will accommodate more than 2,000 undergraduate students and 525 postgraduate students, is part of University College Dublin’s campus master plan to further Ireland’s national science education and research initiative.

The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology initiated construction in July of 2009 on the $62 million University Design Hub in Melbourne, Australia. The 12,000-sm building will support research and teaching in the disciplines of architecture, textile and fashion design, industrial design, landscape architecture, urban design, engineering, fine art, and creative media.

Lewis-Clark State College’s $16 million Nursing and Health Sciences Building will open in August of 2009. Located in Lewiston, Idaho, the 60,000-sf Sacajawea Hall will provide classrooms, training labs, simulation suites, and research facilities. The building will house LCSU’s Nursing and Health Sciences and Natural Sciences Divisions. 

San Diego City College has selected Rudolph and Sletten to construct its 73,000-sf science building. Designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux, the facility will house classrooms and laboratories for physical and life sciences including biology, botany, microbiology, chemistry, physics, astronomy, marine biology, and oceanography. Construction will begin in early 2010.

Paris Junior College opened its $13 million academic building in Greenville, Texas, in July of 2009. Designed by SHW Group of Dallas, the two-story, 42,000-sf facility contains flexible, technology-enabled classrooms, a science lab, a computer lab, a library, administrative offices, and a large meeting room that can also be used as a classroom. The facility will serve 2,500 students and was constructed by Charter Builders of Dallas. The project represents the first building in the college's multiphase plan for the 172-acre site.

William Carey University is building the College of Osteopathic Medicine in Hattiesburg, Miss. Slated for occupancy in fall of 2010, the first phase is comprised of a 46,000-sf facility housing classrooms and laboratories. The second and third phases will reach completion in 2014 providing teaching amphitheaters, conference rooms, and administrative offices. The total construction cost for the project is $11 million.

The University of British Columbia is planning to renovate two buildings of the Biological Sciences Complex in Vancouver, Canada. Designed by Acton Ostry Architects with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as laboratory design consultant, this upgrade work will consist of a total of 61,670-nsf of laboratory and laboratory support space. Together, these buildings will house research labs, bioimaging facilities, aquatic animal holding, classrooms, and academic offices.

City University of New York is constructing phase one of the $59 million Advanced Science Research Center. The 200,000-sf laboratory building will support research in photonics, nanotechnology, water and environmental sensing, structural biology, and neuroscience. Featuring a core cleanroom for diagnosis and fabrication, the Advanced Science Research Center will house advanced imaging instrumentation, a rooftop observatory, a 100-seat auditorium, a café, and an education center.

Texas A&M University broke ground on the Citrus Center in Weslaco on June 30, 2009. Designed by Kell Munoz of San Antonio, the research facility is slated for completion in summer of 2010. The two-story Citrus Center will house research labs, diagnostic labs, meeting rooms, classrooms, administrative offices, and faculty offices. A large open laboratory will feature tissue culture areas, a cold room, and a mass spectrometer. The facility will support research on citrus fruit growth and production.

The University of Miami (UM), working with Wexford Science & Technology of Hanover, Md., is embarking on the 211,000-sf phase one of a planned six-building, 2 million-sf UM Life Science Park aimed at both established and spin-off companies who want to work with university researchers. The facilities will encompass preconstructed wet labs, offices, and shared facilities for technology development, as well as housing for researchers and academia, and street-level retail.