Higher Education

The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University has achieved a LEED Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council for the Biodesign Institute Building B, which opened in 2006. Building A, which opened in 2004, received Gold level certification. The two buildings were constructed separately, but are connected on all levels by glass walkways. The Biodesign Institute facilities were designed by the architectural team of Gould Evans and Lord, Aeck & Sargent.

Pennsylvania State University will break ground in early spring of 2008 on a 314,000-gsf materials and life sciences facility in University Park. Slated for completion in spring of 2011, the interdisciplinary center will be the largest in the University’s history and will house laboratories, cleanrooms, and core facilities including a TEM suite. Designed by Rafael Viñoly, the $190 million project will be constructed with one floor as shell space.

Boston University’s School of Dental Medicine will open a dental training institute at Dubai Healthcare City in the United Arab Emirates. Focusing on research, education, and treatment, the institute will provide specialty training in areas such as oral and maxillofacial surgery, orthodontics, and periodontics. Boston University’s center will open to its first students in summer of 2008. Dubai Healthcare City is also partnering with institutions such as the Mayo Clinic and pharmaceutical maker AstraZeneca.

Emory University has selected Dr. Fred Sanfilippo as executive vice president for health affairs at Emory, chief executive of the Robert W. Woodruff Health Sciences Center, and chairman of the board for Emory Healthcare. He will assume his new post on Oct. 1, 2007. Dr. Sanfilippo previously served as senior vice president and executive dean for health sciences at Ohio State University and the CEO of OSU Medical Center since 2000.

Marshall University will break ground in August 2007 on a $3.5 million, 16,000-sf undergraduate engineering laboratory building in Huntington, Iowa. Completion is expected by fall of 2008. The facility will house environmental and interdisciplinary labs, three offices, a classroom, and material storage. Marshall is also planning to construct a $50 million classroom, office, and laboratory facility between the existing $48 million Byrd Biotechnology Science Center and the engineering lab building.

Michigan State University is planning to construct a 33,300-gsf (20,000-nsf) College of Nursing facility on its East Lansing campus. The $17 million project will be constructed as an addition to the existing Life Science Building and will house classrooms, conference rooms, research facilities, and an atrium.

At a Congressional hearing in late July of 2007, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security established a research committee to explore ways of adapting the regulations for the storage of chemicals and hazardous materials for college campuses. As the cost and effort of complying with federal regulations for chemical storage can be extensive, the working group will review and revise the regulations in order to create a standard appropriate for university laboratories and facilities.

The University of Hertfordshire opened the four-story Health Research Building in Hatfield, UK, in late July of 2007. Sited on the College Lane campus, the facility will accommodate research on dementia in senior citizens. The facility is part of the Health and Human Sciences Research Institute’s Centre for Research in Primary and Community Care and is funded by the NHS National Institute of Health Research. The center will study end of life care, interventions, and medication management.

Princeton University has approved plans for a new 260,000-sf, four-story chemistry building and a connecting pedestrian bridge. Replacing existing chemistry facilities, the building will house teaching and research labs, department offices, lecture halls, and an auditorium. The project will be designed to be energy efficient with photovoltaic panels and advanced HVAC systems. Site work began in summer of 2007 with completion expected in fall of 2010.

UC Davis completed construction of the 125,000-sf Veterinary Medicine III A building in summer of 2007. The $77 million facility houses classrooms and research space to enable consolidation of the School of Veterinary Medicine in a single location. The project began construction in March of 2002 and was publicly funded.

The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is planning to construct a new campus in Bangalore, double the size of its existing footprint. IISc is also engaged in the construction of a new library and laboratories for nanotechnology, engineering, biology, and physics. The new construction, modernization, and expansion projects will enable IISc to expand the clinical applications of its biology and engineering research, with the potential to construct a biomedical center in the future.

Florida International University will open the International Hurricane Research Center in Miami in summer of 2008. The facility will consist of a steel warehouse large enough to contain a two-story house and a large wind and rain machine. Aimed at developing storm-proof building technologies, the facility will enable scientists to destroy houses within a controlled environment to study how construction methods and building materials perform in extreme storm conditions.

Kent State University broke ground on the two-story, 56,000-sf Health and Science Building in Ashtabula, Ohio, in July of 2007. The $15 million facility will accommodate nursing and healthcare education in a technology-rich environment to support leading edge biomedical training. Completion is expected in January of 2009.

Gaston College broke ground on a $3.2 million classroom, laboratory, and office facility in July of 2007. The 14,000-sf Jerry W. Cochrane Science and Technology Center will house two science laboratories for general biology, chemistry, and microbiology. The project will begin actual construction in August of 2007 with completion slated for May of 2008.

Stonehill College will break ground on a $34 million science center in Easton, Mass., in September of 2007. Featuring a large atrium between two academic wings housing biology, biochemistry, chemistry, neuroscience, physics, psychology, and environmental studies, the 89,000-sf project will contain laboratories, classrooms, and faculty offices. The interdisciplinary project is designed to foster collaboration and interaction and is expected to open in September of 2009.