Higher Education

Fort Valley State University will initiate construction in July of 2008 on a $3.1 million biotechnology center in Fort Valley, Ga.  Housing four labs and a 100-seat lecture hall, the 8,000-sf facility is slated for completion by June of 2009. The project was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will connect to the Stallworth Agricultural Research Station. Additionally, a $20 million, 59,000-sf science center will house classrooms and labs enriched with leading edge technology and is slated for completion in fall of 2009.

The University of Virginia dedicated the McIntire School of Commerce in Charlottesville in May of 2008. Construction manager Gilbane Building Company partnered with architect Hartman-Cox on the 138,000-sf construction/renovation project which included a 114,000-sf addition to Rouss Hall named Robertson Hall. Rouss was also renovated and consolidated with the new addition to form a single building to accommodate the McIntire School of Commerce.

Paris Sorbonne University is developing a campus on a greenfield site on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi. The Al Habtoor Leighton Group, in joint venture with Murray and Roberts, has been awarded a $350 million contract to design and construct the project for Mubadala Development Company. A 93,000-sm academic building is slated for completion in August of 2010 and will house two lecture wings, a library, an auditorium, administration, and dining.

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University will open the $200 million Michael F. Price Center for Genetic and Translational Medicine on its Bronx campus in New York in June of 2008. The 201,000-sf, five-story facility is located in the Harold and Muriel Block Research Pavilion and houses 40 laboratories, research support space, and a 100-seat auditorium.

The University of New England celebrated the groundbreaking of Peter and Cecile Morgane Hall in Biddeford, Maine, on May 9, 2008. The academic facility will house undergraduate classrooms and teaching labs for biology and chemistry. Occupancy is slated for the spring semester of 2009.

Whitworth University will begin construction in late spring of 2009 on a $37 million science center in Spokane, Wash. The three-story, 63,000-sf facility will house labs, classrooms, and offices for the departments of biology and chemistry. Completion is expected by fall of 2010. The facility is part of a $53 million project to upgrade and expand Whitworth’s science facilities. The second phase is comprised of a $16 million, 16,000-sf addition to the existing Johnston Center slated for completion in 2011.

Indiana University Bloomington approved seven construction projects in May of 2008, for a total of 13 capital projects on campus (planned or under way) totaling $340 million. The recently approved projects include:

Butler University broke ground on a $14 million pharmacy and health sciences addition in Indianapolis, Ind., on May 8, 2008. Housing classrooms, project rooms, laboratories, and faculty offices, the 40,000-sf facility is expected to attain LEED Silver certification. Sustainable design elements will include waterless urinals, natural lighting, and heat recovery. The project includes renovation of two pharmacy instructional labs in the existing College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences facility.

The University of California, Berkeley has selected contractor McCarthy to build the $160 million Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. Accommodating research into the molecular basis for disease, the facility will focus on infectious diseases, gene regulation, stem cell biology, and neurodegenerative diseases. The project architect is Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership. Construction is slated to begin in 2008 and reach completion in 2011.

Florida Atlantic University will break ground in fall of 2008 on a new College of Engineering facility in Boca Raton. Part of a planned 250,000-sf College of Engineering complex, the first phase will house between 80,000-sf and 100,000-sf of classroom, laboratory, computing, and administrative space. The project architect is Schwab, Twitty & Hanser with James A. Cummings Inc. as construction manager. Green Building Services is providing LEED consultation. The facility is expected to reach LEED Platinum certification.

The University of California, San Francisco broke ground on the $254 million Cardiovascular Research Institute (CVRI) on May 7, 2008. Located on the University’s Mission Bay campus, the 232,000-sf collaborative facility will house biomedical research laboratories and an outpatient clinic. Occupancy is slated for 2011.

Texas A&M University opened the R. Ken Williams '45 Radiogenic Isotope Geosciences Laboratory on May 3, 2008 in College Station. The facility began construction in October 2007 and houses interdisciplinary research space for the College of Geosciences. Accommodating the disciplines of geochronology, tectonics, paleoceanography, environmental geochemistry, and climate-change research, the facility contains Class 1000 and Class 100 chemistry laboratories, a mass spectrometry lab, a sample prep lab, and faculty offices.

Clemson University will break ground in August of 2008 on a $50 million, 95,000-sf Bioscience/Life Sciences building in Clemson, S.C.  Also under construction is the $7 million Institute of Packaging Design and Graphics facility, housing teaching labs, offices and classrooms; completion is slated for December of 2008. Additionally, the $11.5 million Rhodes Hall Annex, comprised of 30,000-sf of bioengineering research space, teaching labs, and classrooms, will reach completion in April of 2009.

The University of Southampton will open the £55 million Mountbatten Building in late 2008 in Southampton, UK. Connecting on all levels to the existing Zepler Building, the interdisciplinary nanotechnology and microelectronics facility will include cleanrooms, research laboratories, and offices. Housing the School of Electronics and Computer Sciences and the Optoelectronics Research Centre, the facility will accommodate the fabrication and characterization of materials with a concentration on the structuring and modifying of materials at the nanoscale.

The University of Central Florida (UCF) is constructing the Burnett Biomedical Sciences building in Orlando. Slated for completion by fall of 2009, the five-story facility will will house the merged UCF College of Medicine and the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences. The project team includes Ellenzweig Associates of Cambridge as design architect and HuntonBrady Architects of Orlando as architect of record.