Higher Education

Amherst College in Massachusetts is looking to the future with a new science center that supports active learning and project-based teaching, with a sustainable, energy-efficient design highlighted by innovative labs, high-tech classrooms, and departmental and interdisciplinary collaboration. College leaders say the building—designed with enough flexibility to address new pedagogies and meet the changing needs of students and faculty—will support the science programs through the next century, decrease energy consumption by 76 percent, and create a transformative sense of campus community.

Drexel University is partnering with Wexford Science+Technology to create the Drexel Academic Tower in Philadelphia. Construction began in July of 2020 on the structure, which will provide Drexel with 450,000 sf of rented space in the University City district. The College of Nursing and Health Professions will be located in the building, with classes beginning in fall of 2022.

16 Tech Community Corporation opened the $50 million Innovation Building 1 in August of 2020 in Indianapolis. Developed by Browning, the 120,000-sf facility was constructed by Davis & Associates and is now fully leased. The Indiana Biosciences Research Institute is occupying 67,000 sf on the first three floors of the building. The five-story structure will accommodate the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership, as well as providing 12,000 sf of research space for Indiana University's Center for Regenerative Medicine.

Bishop State Community College broke ground in late July of 2020 on two new instructional facilities in Mobile, Ala. The $17 million Advanced Manufacturing Center will provide technology-rich learning environments for programs in robotics, process technology, electronic engineering, and industrial maintenance. The college also began construction on a $4 million renovation project to create a state-of-the-art health sciences center.

Hackensack Meridian Health is constructing the $714 million Helena Theurer Pavilion at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey. Designed by RSC Architects and EYP Architecture & Engineering, the nine-story, 530,000-gsf facility will accommodate 150 medical/surgical beds in private rooms, 24 technology-rich operating rooms, and a 50-bed orthopedic center. Stantec is the project manager and owner's representative for the 438,000-asf project, which is being built by a joint venture of W.M.

The University of North Dakota is planning to break ground in fall of 2020 on the $70 million Nistler College of Business and Public Administration in Grand Forks. Designed by JLG Architects, the four-story, 111,000-sf facility will offer highly flexible learning environments capable of accommodating a wide range of instructional modalities. Technology-enabled classrooms will support a combination of online and in-person instruction, with educational spaces right-sized for appropriate density metrics.

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.