Saint Louis University opened the $50 million Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Building in August of 2020 in St. Louis. Designed by Hastings+Chivetta with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the three-story, 90,000-sf facility features a full-height atrium, 10,000 sf of research space, and an active learning classroom that can accommodate up to 210 students.
Arguably one of the most challenging aspects of planning students’ return to campus has been around teaching labs, where working hands on, in groups, for hours on end is paramount to the learning experience. Solutions to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 vary among institutions, depending largely on the facilities they have available to them, but commonalities include more PPE, shorter lab sessions with fewer students, and a lot more solo work, supported by remote learning.
UC Davis Health will renovate an existing 194,000-sf facility to provide consolidated administrative space in Rancho Cordova, Calif. Designed by Stantec, the $48 million project will enhance efficiency for several operational groups by creating a central collaborative location. Offering flexible workstation environments, focus rooms, huddle areas, conference rooms, and gathering spaces, the building will accommodate employees working in human resources, finance, revenue, information technology, and executive leadership.
York University will begin construction in August of 2020 on the CAD$275.5 million Markham Centre Campus in Markham, Ontario. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects, the 10-story, 400,000-sf facility will provide engaging teaching and research environments for 4,200 students, with the flexibility to respond to future growth demands. Offering a variety of interaction areas and common spaces, the collaborative building will accommodate programs in digital technologies, data analytics, business, entrepreneurship, new media, and communications.
California Polytechnic State University is constructing the $125 million William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The four-story, 103,800-sf facility will collocate the College of Liberal Arts, the College of Science and Mathematics, and the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences.
Winstanley Enterprises is planning to build a $100 million bioscience research building in New Haven, Conn. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, the 10-story, 500,000-sf facility will provide leasable laboratory and office environments for life science companies and academic institutions. Featuring a large public plaza, the project will include a conference center, a 50,000-sf business incubator, and a classroom for K-12 educational programs.
Fort Lewis College is planning to construct the $33 million Health Sciences Center in Durango, Colo. The 42,000-sf facility will provide classrooms and labs for programs in exercise science, nutrition, physical therapy, public health, and sports administration. The building will also accommodate faculty and staff offices, a women's varsity locker room, study spaces, and gathering areas. Groundbreaking is expected in late 2020.
The University of Sheffield completed construction in July of 2020 on the Royce Discovery Centre in the United Kingdom. Designed by Bond Bryan Architects, the flexible facility provides leading-edge laboratories and workshops for materials science research. Featuring advanced technologies for 3D additive manufacturing, digital manufacturing, and nanocharacterization, the building leverages sophisticated strategies for vibration and noise mitigation to protect sensitive instrumentation.
Nova Scotia Community College began construction in July of 2020 on the new Marconi Campus. Located on the waterfront in downtown Sydney, the complex will provide state-of-the-art learning environments and open collaboration areas for new and existing programs. Accommodating approximately 1,400 students, the project will include a pedestrian skyway and community spaces to encourage public engagement.
Brown University is constructing the 96,000-gsf Wellness Center and Residence Hall in Providence, R.I. Designed by William Rawn Associates, the facility collocates a 162-bed dormitory with a student hub offering physical, mental, and emotional health services. The sustainably designed building integrates a hybrid framing structure comprised of cross-laminated timber (CLT) and steel components. Featuring natural interior finishes, the facility will provide easily accessible outdoor spaces, with upper floors benefitting from exceptional views.
Colorado State University is constructing the $34.6 million Johnson Family Equine Hospital on the South Campus in Fort Collins. Located in the Veterinary Health Complex on CSU’s South Campus, the 85,000-sf project will provide translational research and treatment facilities including sophisticated operating rooms, an equine sports medicine center, advanced imaging suites, a dedicated isolation unit, and rehabilitation and therapy areas.
Howard University is partnering with Adventist HealthCare to create a $450 million academic teaching hospital in Washington, D.C. Featuring a Level I trauma center, the 600,000-sf, 225-bed complex will offer state-of-the-art facilities for patient care and medical education. An adjacent building housing clinical offices will also be constructed. Completion is expected in 2025 or 2026.
York University will begin construction in mid-2022 on the 53,420-sf Neuroscience Laboratory and Research Building in Toronto. Designed by HDR, the two-story facility will provide sophisticated wet labs, research offices, and labs for neuropsychology and kinesiology. Located on the Keele Campus, the project will be physically connected to the existing Sherman Health Science Research Centre by a lower-level corridor.
The United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) approved a healthy buildings resolution in June of 2020. "Advancing Healthy Buildings in the Fight Against COVID-19" will support the implementation of integrated solutions for the design and operation of public facilities.
University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf is planning to build a 193,000-sf translational medicine hub in Hamburg, Germany. Housing the Campus Research II facility and the Hamburg Center for Translational Immunology, the interdisciplinary complex will provide 150 labs for the study of inflammation, infection, and immunology. The structure will also accommodate collaborative workspaces, instrumentation suites, research offices, and interaction zones.
