Higher Education

The Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory has selected M+W Zander to design its new nanotechnology center on the campus of the University of Minho in Braga, Portugal. The 230,000-sf project will feature Class 100 and 1000 cleanrooms and central characterization suites, including electron and scanning probe microscopy. The first phase of the project includes a nanotechnology research building and accommodations for visiting scientists. The second phase is comprised of a business incubator and a nanotechnology interpretive center.

The University of Central Florida College of Medicine initiated construction on a 168,000-sf instructional facility in Orlando in June of 2008. Housing classrooms, anatomy and simulation labs, and a medical library, the project is slated for completion in March of 2010. The building is sited adjacent to the 198,000-sf Burnett Biomedical Sciences building currently under construction. The Burnett Building, which will house research laboratories and the M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute, is expected to reach completion by May of 2009.

The University of Idaho’s Center for Advanced Energy Studies in Idaho Falls is slated for completion in August of 2008. The $19 million, 55,000-sf project is a public-private energy research and education facility and is affiliated with Idaho National Laboratory (INL).

Barnard Environmental Studies Magnet School, one of several New Haven public schools being constructed by program manager Gilbane Building Company, is the first school to earn Gold certification in the LEED New Construction Rating System from the U.S. Green Building Council. The facility, designed by Roberta Washington Architects, received a $43 million transformation through the City’s $1.5 billion program. It serves some 600 students in grades pre-K through 8.

Georgia Tech Research Institute initiated the second phase of construction at its Food Processing Technology Building in Atlanta in summer of 2008. The $3 million project will add 10,000-sf of laboratory, office, and R&D space to the existing $8 million, 35,000-square-foot facility.

Nicolaus Copernicus University has selected engineering consultants PM Group of Ireland to design its €8 million quantum physics research center in Torun, Poland. The 2,000-sm facility will include five technology-rich laboratories and is slated for completion by year-end 2010. The project will support quantum optics research with the goal of eliminating current obstacles to the creation of a quantum computer.

Ocean County College initiated construction in June of 2008 on a $12 million social science center in Toms River, N.J.  Built to meet LEED sustainable design criteria, the 30,000-sf academic building will include classrooms, faculty offices, computer labs, and a conference room. The project team is comprised of DMR Architects, KS Engineers, and consulting engineers French & Parrello. Completion is slated for September of 2009.

Utah State University dedicated its $13 million engineering laboratory building in Logan, Utah, in June of 2008. Housing research and laboratory space for the College of Engineering, the three-story, 38,000-sf facility will feature modular bays for undergraduate and graduate research.

The University of Memphis broke ground on a $26 million residence, classroom and office facility in Memphis, Tenn., on June 19 of 2008. Slated for completion by March of 2010, the 127,000-sf project will accommodate 496 students in “living-learning” neighborhoods of between 18 and 22 individuals. LEED Silver certification for sustainable design will be sought for the facility. The project team includes Atkins Buchner Price Architects, Habiterra Architects, and general contractor Flintco, Inc.

Wright State University broke ground on a $9 million renovation of the science laboratories at its Lake Campus in Celina, Ohio, on June 18, 2008. The project will add a total of 27,860-sf to the existing facility with a new science wing housing technology-rich laboratories and a multipurpose center. The general contractor is Brumbaugh Construction of Arcanum, Ohio.

Vanderbilt University Medical Center celebrated the opening of the $110 million Medical Research Building IV in Nashville on June 17, 2008. The 200,000-sf facility houses 86 laboratory modules and is built atop two existing buildings. Three research floors are sited above Light Hall, with five research floors and two vivarium floors above the newly renovated $5.5 million, 1,106-seat Langford Auditorium. The project was designed by Don Blair and Associates with Davis Brody Architects.

The University of Nevada, Reno broke ground on the $50 million Davidson Mathematics and Science Center on June 17, 2008. The integrated 105,000-sf facility will include 27 teaching labs, eight biological science labs, seven chemistry labs, four large classrooms, a 500-seat auditorium, a 50-seat computational classroom, faculty offices, meeting areas, and administration. The project contractor is PENTA Building Group. Completion is slated for August of 2010.

Texas Woman’s University will initiate construction in fall of 2008 on a $26 million renovation of the University’s Denton science facility. The project includes the creation of offices and classrooms in the existing building, which will be joined by a three-story connector to a new laboratory wing. The facility will be built to meet sustainable design criteria without seeking LEED certification.

The University of Waterloo broke ground on the $160 million Mike and Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre (QNC) in June of 2008. Uniting research and engineering in quantum information technology and nanotechnology, the five-story facility will house the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, and undergraduate nanotechnology engineering instruction. The 280,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will include faculty offices, two atria, teaching and research labs, seminar rooms, a 10,000-sf fabrication cleanroom, and a metrology suite.

Bristol University’s £11 million Centre for Nanoscience and Quantum Information is slated for completion in summer of 2008. Featuring laboratories with extremely low vibration, acoustic noise, and air movement, the £10.6 million, four-story project began construction in October of 2006. The project team includes architect Capita Percy Thomas, contractor Willmott Dixon, and project manager Capita Symonds.