Higher Education

The University of California, Berkeley received $10.98 million from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in November of 2008 to fund the construction of the Center for Integrated Precision and Quantum Measurement (CIPQM). The 10,000-sf underground facility will be located in the planned New Campbell Hall and will provide 10 to 15 modular laboratories for multidisciplinary precision measurement research. Construction on the low-vibration, low-noise, and low-EMI facility is expected to begin in 2010.

The University of New Hampshire is engaged in a $25.5 million expansion and renovation of James Hall. Comprised of a 15,000-sf addition to the 1920s science building, the project will increase the facility’s footprint from 60,000-sf to 75,000-sf. The new James Hall will house the departments of natural resources and earth sciences and is slated for completion in December of 2009. The building will feature a wildlife wet research lab, a walk-in environmental chamber, and climate controlled rooms. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Louisiana State University selected the site for its planned academic medical center in downtown New Orleans in November of 2008. A new Veterans Affairs Medical Center will be built adjacent to LSU’s facility. The $2 billion, 70-acre joint medical campus will replace facilities lost in Hurricane Katrina and will anchor a developing biosciences industry corridor.

Trinity College Dublin is planning to build an 11-story biomedical sciences research and training facility in Dublin, Ireland. The €75 million project will include research, academic, and commercial office space. Slated for completion in 2010, the 28,000-sm TCD Biomedical Sciences Development will house the Institute of Immunology, the Cancer Drug Discovery Center of Excellence, the Bioengineering Center, and space for the Institute of Neuroscience.

UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography will begin construction in summer of 2010 on the $26.5 million Marine Ecosystem Sensing, Observation and Modeling (MESOM) Laboratory. Located in La Jolla, Calif., the planned three-story, 18,000-asf facility will house laboratories, offices, and conference rooms for multidisciplinary research on physical, biological, and chemical sensors for ocean ecology research. Completion is expected in 2012. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

Jackson State University opened the Center for the Study of Natural Disasters, Coastal Infrastructure and Emergency Management in November of 2008. Located in Jackson, Miss., the facility will enable the Department of Homeland Security to research solutions for protecting at-risk infrastructure, improving communication, and enhancing recovery efforts in response to natural disasters.

The University of Florida is planning to construct the $2 million Aquatic Pathobiology Laboratory in Gainesville. Funded by $1.267 million from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the 6,990-sf research facility will include the Aquatic Animal Health Facility, small and large animal necropsy, molecular diagnostics, aquatic animal holding, and water preparation rooms.

West Virginia Wesleyan College is constructing the David E. Reemsnyder Research Center in Buckhannon, W.V. Slated for completion by year-end 2009, the 23,000-sf facility will be connected to the existing Christopher Hall of Science by a bridge walkway. Housing undergraduate teaching and research, the $8.7 million Reemsnyder Research Center will include classrooms, laboratories, offices, an animal care facility, an instrumentation room, a cold room, a prep room, and a tissue culture room. The general contractor is Arctecon Construction of Wexford, Pa.

The University of Wisconsin Oshkosh will begin construction on a 175,000-sf academic facility in September of 2009. Slated for completion by fall of 2011, the four-story building will house 31 classrooms, two 260-seat auditoriums, research laboratories, instructional computer labs, faculty offices, and conference rooms. Designed by Richard Dannhausen, the $62 million project will seek LEED Gold sustainable design certification.

Tulane University opened its $27.5 million Regional Biosafety Laboratory at the National Primate Research Center on December 5, 2008. Located in Covington, La., the 38,000-sf BSL-3 facility supports research on infectious diseases and airborne contaminants. The laboratory will house approximately 180 monkeys when research operations begin in summer of 2009.

Indiana University School of Medicine-South Bend (IUSM-SB) and Notre Dame University broke ground on the $20 million Harper Hall in South Bend in November of 2008. The 55,000-sf project will house medical education facilities, offices, and 28 cancer research laboratories for IUSM-SB and the University of Notre Dame. The building will connect on three levels to the existing Raclin-Carmichael Hall, which houses IUSM-SB and Notre Dame’s Keck Center for Transgene Research.

George Mason University has awarded a $53.6 million contract to Concord Eastridge and Balfour Beatty Construction to build a 170,800-sf hotel and conference center in Fairfax, Va. The Mason Inn will include 20,000-sf of conference facilities integrated with a 149-room hotel. The facility will also include 11 meeting rooms, a ballroom, dining, and an 80-space parking garage.

Trent University has selected M.J. Dixon Construction to build the $12.5 million Health Sciences facility in Peterborough, Ontario. Construction will begin on the 49,000-sf building by year-end 2008 with completion expected by September of 2010. Housing programs in nursing, psychology, and anthropology, the two-story facility will support healthcare education and research with eight wet science labs, classrooms, and faculty offices.

Texas A&M University dedicated its new health science campus in Round Rock in November of 2008. The first 130,000-sf facility will open in fall of 2009. The building will house space for clinical instruction and a simulation center for medical skills training.

The University of California, Berkeley broke ground on a 52,000-sf library and academic facility for the School of Law in October of 2008. Designed by architectural firm Ratcliff of Emeryville, the project will be built to attain LEED Gold sustainable design certification. Constructed as expansion of the South Pavilion, the three-story facility will include two floors below ground level. Completion is slated for 2011.