Higher Education

The University of California, Merced began construction on a $38.5 million academic facility for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts in July of 2008. Slated for completion in spring of 2010, the three-story building will house teaching and research labs, classrooms, research lab offices, and art studios. The project will increase available space for the School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts from 90,000-sf to 192,000-sf. The facility will also include an entrepreneurship center and the Ernest and Julio Gallo School of Management.

Clarion University’s $33.7 million science and technology center in Clarion, Pa., is slated for completion in May of 2009. Built to meet LEED certification standards, the 98,000-sf facility will house 40 laboratories (including teaching labs), 55 offices, seven classrooms, and two seminar rooms. The facility was designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as laboratory design consultant. Clarion University is also constructing the Biotechnology Business Development Center at Trinity Point.

Purdue University is constructing the Wayne T. and Mary T. Hockmeyer Hall of Structural Biology in West Lafayette, Ind. The $30 million, 65,690-sf building broke ground in October of 2007 and will house the Markey Center for Structural Biology. Completion is slated for fall of 2009.

Washington University is initiating construction on the $235 million BJC Institute of Health at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Housing the University’s BioMed 21 translational research initiative, the 70,000-sf, 11-story facility was funded in part by a $30 million donation from BJC Healthcare. Slated for completion in December of 2009, the facility will house five BioMed laboratories with support and two School of Medicine academic departments.

Stanford University will break ground in 2009 on the 200,000-sf Stanford Institutes of Medicine 1 in Palo Alto, Calif. Housing the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, the $200 million project received $43.58 million in funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in May of 2008. Completion is expected in 2011. The project team includes Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects and The Whiting-Turner Contracting Co.

The University of California, Riverside will begin construction in 2010 on a $508 million complex for its new medical school. Sited on 40 acres, the project includes two research and medical instruction facilities and a vivarium for animal research. The medical school will initially occupy a renovated building when it opens in 2012.

Stempeutics Research opened a 5,000-sf stem cell research facility on the campus of Manipal University in India in July of 2008. Located at Shirdi Sai Baba Cancer Hospital, the cGMP laboratory will support therapeutics research and production with two Class 10,000 cleanrooms. The facility is designed to USA Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT) standards and employ cGTP (current Good Tissue Practice) manufacturing processes.

Yale University began construction in April of 2008 on the 13,600-sf Greenberg Conference Center in New Haven, Conn. Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects, the project will seek LEED Gold certification for sustainable design. The flexible facility will feature a 60-seat amphitheater, a 30-seat divisible classroom, a 100-seat dining room, and advanced audiovisual capabilities. The project contractor is Shawmut Design and Construction. Completion is slated for May of 2009.

Brown University has selected the project team of Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Shawmut Design and Construction to design and build the Nelson Fitness Center and University Swim Center in Providence, R.I.  The 85,000-sf facility will feature an Olympic swimming pool, a three-court gymnasium, fitness studios, and a new quadrangle and atrium. The project will break ground in March of 2009 with completion expected in fall of 2010.

The University of Minnesota-Duluth broke ground on the $15 million Civil Engineering Building in July of 2008. The 34,000-sf building will house laboratories and instructional facilities and is slated for occupancy in 2010.

Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center will construct a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) tissue laboratory for the Institute for Regenerative Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C. Located in the Richard Dean Biomedical Research Building in Piedmont Triad Research Park, the facility will support the creation of tissues and engineered organs for the rehabilitation of soldiers. The facility is created in partnership with the Department of Defense’s Armed Forces Institute for Regenerative Medicine, a multi-institutional consortium of research centers.

UC San Diego Medical Center has selected Cannon Design as project architect for a new inpatient tower on its East Campus in La Jolla, Calif. The facility will break ground in 2012 with completion slated for 2015. The project, which will bring total bed count at the La Jolla hospital to 505, is part of a long term plan to build a major University Medical Center on the East Campus. Proximity to the School of Medicine and Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences will promote clinical innovation through translational research.

The University of Baltimore is planning to construct a new $107 million School of Law facility in Baltimore, Md. Slated for completion in August of 2012, the 190,000-sf project will enter the design phase by year-end 2008. The facility is part of the planned Fitzgerald at UB Midtown development which will house 240 apartments, street-level retail, and a 1,100-sf parking garage. The facility is being designed by Behnisch Architekten of Stuttgart in partnership with Ayers/Saint/Gross of Baltimore. The University of Baltimore is part of the University System of Maryland.

Tufts University is building the $25.9 million Regional Biocontainment Laboratory in North Grafton, Mass. Part of the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, the facility is funded in part by $19.35 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The 38,000-gsf facility is sited on 5.4 acres in the Grafton Science Park and will include 23,290-sf of mechanical and basement space.

Lehigh University will break ground in August of 2008 on the $62.1 million Science, Technology, Environment, Policy & Society (STEPS) building in Bethlehem, Pa. The 135,000-sf facility will be constructed to attain LEED certification by construction manager Alvin H. Butz, Inc. Completion is slated for June of 2010. The project will feature a green roof.