Higher Education

The University of Arkansas is planning to build the $26.5 million Anthony Timberlands Center for Design and Materials Innovation in Fayetteville. Designed by Grafton Architects in collaboration with Modus Studio, the project will provide the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design with approximately 50,000 sf of applied research and education space to accelerate the creation of innovative timber and wood construction modalities.

A $2.2 trillion stimulus package will support the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in their response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Funding from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) will be available to the agencies through September of 2024. The CDC will receive $4.3 billion in new funding, which includes $1.5 billion for joint initiatives with state and local governments. The NIH has been allocated $945.4 million, which will be directed to:

The University of South Florida broke ground on a $42 million innovation center in Tampa in March of 2020. Located in the USF Research Park, the 120,000-sf facility will provide researchers, entrepreneurs, and industry partners with leasable laboratory, office, and meeting facilities. Designed by Gensler, the three-story building will act as a catalyst for regional economic growth through the creation and commercialization of new technologies.

Westminster College is engaged in a $11.2 million expansion of the Hoyt Science Center in New Wilmington, Pa. Designed by BHDP Architecture, the 27,000-sf addition will provide six teaching labs, three research labs, ten faculty offices, and student collaboration spaces. The three-story wing will house the school's growing STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, as well as the Center for the Environment. Ground was broken on the project in September of 2019 and occupancy is expected by summer of 2021.

The University of Technology Sydney is constructing the Science Research Building in New South Wales, Australia. Designed by H2o Architects, the integrated seven-story facility will provide flexible research labs for the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology. Enabling collaborative discovery and development with industry partners, the interdisciplinary structure will feature specialized spaces for advanced analytics, chemical synthesis, phenomics, and translational medicine.

Georgia State University is planning to construct an $84 million research building in Atlanta for the study of global infectious diseases. Designed by HOK, the 84,100-sf biocontainment facility will provide BSL-3 and BSL-4 labs, a vivarium, collaborative open research areas, offices, and support space. A design-bid-build contractor is being sought for the project, which has an estimated construction cost of $66 million. The structure represents the third phase of development at the university's Science Park and is slated for completion in 2022.

Vermeulens has released its market outlook report for the fourth quarter of 2019. Key points include:

Edmonds Community College is building a $54 million STEM and health science facility in Edmonds, Wash. Accommodating programs in nursing, allied health, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the collaborative 70,000-sf structure will offer active learning environments, classrooms, teaching labs, clinical simulation suites, offices, and study areas. The project will also accommodate pre-engineering courses developed in partnership with The Boeing Company and other local employers. Occupancy is expected in September of 2020.

Manchester Metropolitan University will begin construction in spring of 2021 on the £65 million Science and Engineering building in the United Kingdom. The seven-story academic facility will provide teaching and research labs, instructional spaces, a 200-seat super lab, academic offices, collaboration spaces, and self-directed learning areas. Designed as a living laboratory, the structure will house the Manchester Fuel Cell Innovation Centre and PrintCity, the university’s 3D additive and digital manufacturing technology hub.

Harrisburg University of Science and Technology is building a $110 million academic tower in Harrisburg, Pa. Housing the Health Sciences Education Center, the 11-story, 210,000-sf facility will offer classrooms and auditoria for programs in nursing, allied health, and pharmaceutical sciences, as well as instructional spaces for courses in advanced manufacturing and interactive media. The project team includes design architect Stantec and general contractor Whiting-Turner. Occupancy is expected in January of 2023. 

The University of Illinois at Chicago will begin construction in spring of 2021 on the $118 million Computer Design Research and Learning Center. Designed by Booth Hansen and LMN Architects, the 125,000-sf facility will provide flexible classrooms, lecture halls, dry research labs, design studios, faculty and staff offices, and collaboration areas.

Arizona State University broke ground on the $118 million ASU Downtown Phoenix Residence Hall and Entrepreneurial Center in March of 2020. Designed by Studio Ma, the 16-story, 248,000-sf structure will include a three-story innovation hub providing studios, maker spaces, workshops, classrooms, offices, and event venues for the Herberger Institute of Design and the Arts. The building will also offer residential accommodation for up to 530 students and visiting professionals on the remaining 13 floors.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is building the 54,650-gsf Center for Dairy Research. Designed by Zimmerman Architectural Studios to support collaborative development with industry partners, the three-story addition to Babcock Hall will house research labs, instructional spaces, dairy processing suites, small-scale production lines, nine rooms for specialty cheese ripening, and an auditorium for training programs and colloquia.

Oregon Health & Science University is constructing the $50 million Elks Children's Eye Clinic Building in Portland. Designed by NBBJ, the freestanding 64,000-sf building will be physically connected to the existing Casey Eye Institute by a striking glass sky bridge. The five-story structure will accommodate translational research labs, an 11,500-sf pediatric eye clinic, and space for clinical trials.

Houston Baptist University is planning to construct a $50 million complex for the College of Science and Engineering and the School of Nursing and Allied Health. Designed by Huitt-Zollars, the 112,300-sf project will include the renovation of two existing buildings and construction of a 53,000-sf facility to provide leading-edge classrooms and laboratories, clinical simulation suites, collaboration spaces, study areas, and informal interaction zones.