Higher Education

Purdue University released the "Protect Purdue" strategic reopening plan in June of 2020. Incorporating the latest scientific guidance, the university has developed an array of tools and operational protocols to safely resume campus activities while limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2. The plan aims to create a culture of safety and accountability through a universal pledge by students, faculty, and staff to assume personal responsibility for protecting themselves, others, and the Purdue community.

While many campuses remain closed to undergraduate students, at least through the summer, researchers are beginning a phased return to their labs, with new safety protocols that include face masks and social distancing; guidelines for space usage and maintenance; and staggered work schedules. Institutions are requiring that researchers continue to do as much work as possible remotely, including writing, analyzing data, and conferring with colleagues. In order for research to fully resume, however, faculty need access to their labs, but they first must be trained in the new protocols and agree to adhere to them; failure to do so will results in the loss of lab access.

Trinity College’s new Innovation Center, located on the third floor of One Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford, Conn., across from the school’s Liberal Arts Action Lab, is home to the academic/corporate partnership with InfoSys, a Digital Health CT accelerator, and new innovation and entrepreneurship programs for students. The open, flexible floor plan of the Common Area, which is open to all members of the Trinity community, gives occupants the freedom to reconfigure the space however they’d like. Other spaces include technology-enabled team huddle areas; an interactive work café with a variety of seating options, digital display, and writeable surfaces; enclosed meeting spaces; and small design studios.

Mississippi State University broke ground in June of 2020 on the $21 million Music Building in Starkville. Designed by Allred Stolarski Architects to collocate the Department of Music in a single location, the 37,000-sf facility will support MSU's strategic initiative to attract top students and faculty to the growing program. The state-of-the-art building will provide classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, a choral rehearsal hall, a student lounge, sound-proof practice rooms, a recording studio, and a multipurpose lecture and recital hall.

The International WELL Building Institute launched the WELL Health-Safety Rating for all building and facility types in June of 2020. The evidence-based, third-party-verified rating system focuses on operational policies, maintenance protocols, and design strategies for the post-COVID-19 environment.

The University of California, Riverside is constructing the $58 million Student Success Center. Designed by Gensler, the three-story, 60,000-sf academic building will provide approximately 1,100 general assignment classroom seats. Featuring a round auditorium to enhance the delivery of progressive pedagogies, the flexible facility will offer a mix of instructional spaces including lecture halls, classrooms, and seminar suites. The structure will also include multipurpose meeting venues, informal study areas, lounges, and a dining venue.

Leeds Beckett University completed construction in June of 2020 on the £45 million Carnegie School of Sport in Leeds in the United Kingdom. Designed by Sheppard Robson, the 90,000-sf facility will accommodate sports science research programs as well as offering performance analysis and training services for elite athletes. The structure provides the school's Centre for Human Performance with dedicated research labs including two environmental chambers capable of producing a variety of temperature, humidity, and altitude conditions.

The University of Texas at San Antonio is planning to construct a $90 million facility that will house the School of Data Science and the National Security Collaboration Center. The School of Data Science will occupy 84,500 sf of classroom, lab, and office space in the structure, which will collocate the departments of computer science, computer engineering, statistics and data sciences, and information systems and cybersecurity.

Access to quick, reliable, and repeated testing has been one of the greatest challenges for businesses, institutions, and individuals during the SARS-CoV-2 crisis. HOK has partnered with Germfree Laboratories to design a mobile testing lab that will help large organizations to meet this urgent need. These self-contained biocontainment facilities can provide advanced, onsite capabilities for any setting.

Wheaton College's Pine Hall is the first academic residence hall in the state of Massachusetts to attain PHIUS certification from Passive House Institute US. Consuming 50 percent less energy than a conventional structure, the 45,000-sf facility features advanced HVAC and lighting systems, triple-glazed windows, solar shading, and high-performance walls and roofing.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro is constructing the $105 million Nursing and Instructional Building. Designed by LS3P, the 180,000-sf structure will provide a consolidated home for the School of Nursing and allow for programmatic growth to support additional enrollment. The four-story structure will feature multiple simulation training environments including hospital rooms, patient exam rooms, labor and delivery suites, and home health settings such as mock apartments.

Intertek, a leading Total Quality Assurance provider to industries worldwide, is enabling companies to re-open for business with the highest health and safety standards in place through its innovative Protek program. Protek harnesses science-based processes and protocols to mitigate environmental health risks in facilities, from existing buildings to new construction projects.

Centennial College of Applied Arts and Technology is planning to construct the CAD$105 million A-Block Building Expansion in Toronto. Acting as a gateway to the school's Progress Campus in Scarborough, the 150,000-gsf project will be the first zero-carbon, mass-timber facility at an institution of higher education in Canada. Offering academic and social spaces for the School of Engineering Technology and Applied Science, the building will include flexible classrooms for active learning, laboratories, administrative offices, and an expansive atrium.

Amid sobering reports of job losses in commercial real estate, coupled with months-long construction shutdowns in major markets like Boston and New York, the life sciences sector is poised to experience a less dramatic disruption, and possibly emerge from the pandemic even stronger than it was before. “COVID is a healthcare crisis, so it needs a healthcare solution, and that life sciences and biophparma solution has to be constructed,” says Kevin Chronley, vice president of A/Z Corp. and immediate past president of the Boston Area Chapter of International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE). Chronley predicts that construction will run the gamut from medical device manufacturing and biopharma laboratories to education and training facilities.

The Texas A&M University System is planning to reopen its 11 campuses in fall of 2020 for in-person instruction and residence. Incorporating the latest guidelines from infectious disease experts and local, state, and federal officials, Texas A&M has created a strategic plan that prioritizes the safety and wellbeing of students and faculty and minimizes the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure. Classes will begin in mid-August with the semester ending prior to Thanksgiving.