Higher Education

Wayne State University has completed a $20 million renovation of the Gordon Scott Hall Basic Medical Sciences building in Detroit. Renovating 40,000 sf of research, teaching, and administrative space, the project increased usable square footage by 20 percent. Housing four open lab zones for comparative and collective research with separate areas for specialized equipment, the project also created space for four additional faculty members.

Cornell University celebrated the opening of the 79,000-square-foot East Campus Research Facility (ECRF) on June 26, 2007. Housing approximately 45,000 mice, including transgenic strains, the $55-million building will also accommodate rats, woodchucks, guinea pigs, hamsters, and chickens. Part of Cornell's $600-million New Life Sciences Initiative, the consolidated animal research facility was five years in the making and is expected to be fully operational in fall of 2007. The project was designed by Philadelphia-based Ballinger.

Arizona State University has selected HDR Architecture and Steven Ehrlich Architects as the design team for the new Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building (ISTB) IV in Tempe. The ISTB IV building is planned as a 250,000-sf structure comprised of high technology research, laboratory, and office space. Planning efforts indicate an estimated project cost of $140 million.

Florida State University broke ground on the $17 million Materials Research Building in Tallahassee’s Innovation Park in June of 2007. Slated for completion by fall of 2008, the two-story, 44,000-sf building will include 13 laboratories and will house the High Performance Materials Institute and FSU’s Center of Excellence in Advanced Materials. The facility will accommodate research, design, processing, and characterization of advanced composites.

The Texas A&M University System is involved in almost $700 million in construction projects in College Station and Bryan, Texas. The $130 million Health Science Center is planned for a 200-acre site in West Bryan. The $95 million, 200,000-sf Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Building will house labs, classrooms, and offices. The $100 million, 230,000-sf Emerging Technologies & Economic Development Building will house engineering teaching and research and is slated for completion by March of 2011.

The University of West Georgia (UWG) has selected Skanska USA Building as construction manager for the new Health, Wellness and Lifelong Learning Center in Carrollton. Rosser International will serve as architect of record. Construction will begin in July of 2007. The project, a 120,000-square foot facility, includes an arena and multiple ball courts that will also provide space for commencement ceremonies. With a capacity for approximately 7,500 people, the arena will be home to the UWG basketball and volleyball teams.

Marshall University opened the 80,000-sf Clinical Education and Outreach Center on June 4, 2007. The $23.5 million, four story facility houses educational spaces including a 125-seat tiered classroom, study areas, exam rooms, clinical skills labs, clinical space including general internal medicine, and a rehabilitation center.

Dominican University will complete construction in August of 2007 of its $20 million science and technology center in San Rafael, Calif. The 35,000-sf facility will house nine teaching laboratories, seven research laboratories with a footprint of 600 sf each, centralized student lounges, and $3 million in laboratory equipment.

DePaul University broke ground in June 2007 on a $37.5 million science building in Chicago. The four story, 100,000-sf facility will feature 23 research labs and eight teaching labs, and will house the department of chemistry as well as classes in biology and environmental science. The building will also include two rooftop greenhouses, one for research and one for teaching. Energy efficient design will be incorporated and used as a teaching tool. The facility will be connected via a second floor walkway to the McGowan Biological and Environmental Sciences Building.

University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSWMC) has selected Omniplan to provide architectural and engineering services for the fifth phase of its research Campus in Dallas. The North Campus, part of UTSWMC's 60-acre school, is divided in half by a landscaped channel that runs from east to west through the site. Phases 1-4, including two designed by Omniplan, are situated on the south side of the canal.

The University of Cambridge began construction in early summer of 2007 on the £12.5 million Centre for the Physics of Medicine. Designed by Building Design Partnership, the 2546 square meter, three-story facility will house research laboratories, teaching spaces, and offices. The project is sited adjacent to the existing Cavendish Laboratory Buildings and will accommodate multi-disciplinary research at the intersection of physics, biology, and medicine.

The University of Michigan opened its 350,000-sf Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor on June 7, 2007. The $215 million, five-story facility was designed by Boston-based Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson & Abbott and built by general contractor Barton Malow Company of Southfield, Mich. The center includes 48 inpatient beds, 11 procedure rooms, eight operating rooms, diagnostic facilities, outpatient spaces, an atrium, and a patient library. The facility is connected to University Hospital and C.S.

Duke University Medical Center has select TK&A (Tsoi Kobus & Associates) to design an expansion of the medical center's existing Cancer Center in Durham. The five-level, 185,000-square-foot addition will provide a new entrance for the Cancer Center and flexibility for future expansion. The new facility will provide comprehensive patient services including chemotherapy and radiation treatment centers, radiology services, and patient support programs. The expansion is the first new project based on Duke's 2006 master plan.

Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School opened its Patient Simulation Learning Center in May of 2007. Comprised of two mock hospital rooms and a control room, the facility features simulator mannequins with computerized controls attached to monitors for training in nursing. Construction of the center was completed by the 19 school shops including digital media, carpentry, electrical, and design.

Grand Valley State University is engaged in seven construction projects totaling approximately $100 million. On its Grand Rapids, Mich., campus, the $16 million John C. Kennedy Hall of Engineering is nearing completion with classes already under way. The facility houses 21 lab and support spaces, a 70-seat lecture hall, three computer-aided technology studios, and a green roof. Occupancy of the new engineering building will allow renovations to Eberhard Center, which will reopen in fall of 2007.