Arizona State University completed construction in early 2022 on the $192 million Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health in Tempe. Designed by Architekton and Grimshaw, the 281,000-gsf facility provides leading-edge research labs for biological and life sciences, engineering, and sustainability, as well as offering dry labs for programs in computing, cybersecurity, and robotics.
Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the fourth quarter of 2021. Key points include:
Build the first 14 floors now, then add a 16-story tower a decade or so into the future. That was Northwestern University’s unconventional approach to the construction of the Louis A. Simpson and Kimberly K. Querrey Biomedical Research Center on the Chicago campus of its Feinberg School of Medicine. It wasn’t the only out-of-the-box decision that enabled the university to move forward with its vision of creating a 1.2 million-sf, next-generation research hub about 10 miles south of its main campus in Evanston. Similarly inventive is the ownership arrangement of the first half, which became the largest academic biomedical research building in the U.S. when it opened in 2019. One of the medical school’s three major hospital affiliates, Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, owns four of the nine lab floors (amounting to roughly 160,000 sf) and has easements to four-ninths of all the common space in the 625,000-sf structure.
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University opened the $90 million Harold L. Martin Sr. Engineering Research & Innovation Complex in Greensboro in February of 2022. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering, the four-story, 130,000-gsf building accommodates programs in cybersecurity and network systems, energy and sustainability, and health applications.
Marist College is planning a $60 million expansion and renovation of Dyson Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Housing the School of Management and the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the existing structure will expand from 54,000 to 110,000 sf to create a new campus hub for intellectual exchange and student collaboration. Designed by Ann Beha Architects, the completed facility will feature a soaring atrium, a 150-seat lecture hall, state-of-the-art classrooms, and specialized research labs for cognitive, developmental, and social psychology.
The University of California, Davis broke ground in February of 2022 on Aggie Square in Sacramento. Designed by ZGF Architects, the first phase of the mixed-use district is being developed in association with Wexford Science + Technology and GMH Capital Partners, who will finance, construct, and own the facilities. At the heart of Aggie Square, a vibrant central plaza will offer a variety of settings for informal interaction, mobile work, and outdoor gatherings.
While creating generic/flexible lab spaces that can be adapted to a variety of different research needs continues to be the preferred approach—especially in higher education buildings—there is also a growing need for highly specialized lab and support facilities designed for very specific types of research. As a result, facility designers are increasingly tasked with balancing the demand for both open generic/flexible labs and specialized lab spaces in a single building with the added challenge of improving energy efficiency, sustainability, and operating costs.
Virginia Tech broke ground in February of 2022 on the $85 million Hitt Hall in Blacksburg. Providing an expanded physical presence for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the 100,000-gsf facility will enhance interdisciplinary synergies between the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering.
Colorado School of Mines began construction in January of 2022 on the $18.6 million Labriola Innovation Hub in Golden, Colo. Designed by OZ Architecture, the 37,000-sf building will provide collaborative environments for hands-on learning and discovery. Featuring maker spaces, design classrooms, and team project spaces, the interdisciplinary structure will enable faculty, students, alumni, and industry partners to develop new solutions for critical societal problems.
Boston College opened the $150 million Integrated Science Building in January of 2022 in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Designed by Payette, the 157,000-sf facility houses the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society (ISSS) where diverse research teams will create solutions for global challenges relating to public health, energy, and the environment. Leveraging interdisciplinary synergies to foster innovation and discovery, the five-story structure also accommodates the Computer Science Department and the Human-Centered Engineering Department.
The University of Hawaii at Manoa broke ground in January of 2022 on the $70 million Residences for Innovative Student Entrepreneurs (RISE) in Honolulu. Leveraging the power of interdisciplinary collaboration to promote new venture success, the six-story, 117,000-sf building will feature a 7,263-sf multipurpose venue offering prototyping labs, coworking spaces, meeting areas, and a classroom. On the upper floors, a 219-unit dormitory will provide 374 beds for undergraduate and graduate students from across the UH System.
The University of Glasgow opened the £118 million Advanced Research Centre in January of 2022 in the United Kingdom. Designed by HOK, the 172,000-sf facility accommodates leading-edge research programs at the intersection of engineering, life sciences, chemistry, physics, social sciences, and the arts.
Caltech is planning to construct the Quantum Science and Technology Center in Pasadena, Calif. Accommodating interdisciplinary research programs in quantum sensing, quantum information, and gravitational-wave detection, the six-story, 47,000-gsf facility will offer four floors of airy interaction spaces and offices atop two levels of underground laboratories. Extensive interior and exterior glazing will admit natural light into the highly transparent structure, promoting visual connectivity and interaction among investigators and between faculty and students.
Harvard University completed a renovation of the historic Houghton Library in January of 2022. Acting as the school's principal repository for rare books and manuscripts, the updated facility features a redesigned entrance forecourt with a broad, welcoming staircase. Designed by Ann Beha Architects, the project included modifications to the library's oval lobby to create a new display setting for the library’s special collections, with space for modern exhibition cases around the perimeter.
The Hans Rosling Center for Population Health at the University of Washington (UW) is designed to realize the vision of the university’s Population Health Initiative, a 25-year mission to address the most persistent and emerging global challenges affecting human health, environmental resilience, and social and economic equity. The nine-story Center provides space for collaborative group work, active learning, offices, and training for the UW Department of Global Health, the Institute for Health Metrics & Evaluation (IHME), the UW School of Public Health, and the offices of the Population Health Initiative. The project was made possible by a $210 million gift from The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and $15 million in earmarked funding from Washington State.
