Higher Education

Radford University is planning to build the $97.8 million Center for Adaptive Innovation and Creativity in Radford, Va. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht to support an innovative pedagogy based on the integration of educational programs in the arts, health sciences, and technology, the 178,000-sf facility will offer classrooms, clinical simulation training suites, performance venues, studios, maker spaces, computer centers, and virtual and augmented reality labs.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute is constructing an $80 million academic and research facility in Worcester, Mass. Designed by Gensler, the 100,000-sf building will provide interactive spaces for project-based education including flexible learning environments and innovation labs for collaborative development with industry and government partners.

Gannon University is building the Institute for Health and Cyber Knowledge (I-HACK) in Erie, Pa. The $20 million project involves the renovation and expansion of an existing six-story tower to accommodate leading-edge programs in cybersecurity, cyber engineering, healthcare systems, computer-based applications, and business management. The first $13 million construction phase includes the creation of an entrance lobby on the first floor, with the second floor accommodating the Pierre McCormick Cyber Learning Center.

Highline College opened the $30 million Health and Life Sciences Building in January of 2020 in Des Moines. Designed by McGranahan Architects, the 46,000-sf facility offers flexible learning environments including classrooms, labs, faculty offices, and study spaces. Supporting a pedagogy of team-based care, the project collocates all the college’s health professions programs in a single location to enhance collaborative learning.

1. Academic Workplace Evolution: How Universities Are Rethinking Spaces for Faculty and Staff
2. Using Data-Driven Design to Produce Research-Supported, Customized Client Solutions
3. Five Space Planning Principles to Avoid the Inefficiencies of Research Program Turnover
4. University of Michigan/Ford Robotics Building Designed for Research and Recruitment
5. Designing Academic Research Facilities for the Fourth Industrial Revolution
6. Combining Research, Medicine, and Athletics to Create New Translational Models
7. LAB2050: Imagining the Lab of the Half Century
8. First Engineering-Based Medical School Integrates Disciplines with an Eye to the Future
9. Adding Manufacturing to a Pharmaceutical Research Lab
10. Designing Diverse Learning Environments and Maker Spaces

The University of Strathclyde is renovating Wolfson Hall to house its department of biomedical engineering. Designed by McLean Architects and Wellwood Leslie Architects, the £15.5 million project will create new teaching and research labs, flexible instructional venues, engaging spaces for interaction and collaboration, and additional offices for faculty, staff, and graduate students.

Emory Healthcare is building the 180,000-sf Emory Musculoskeletal Institute in Brookhaven, Ga. Part of the $1 billion Executive Park development, the facility will provide comprehensive orthopaedic services including spine care, physical therapy, imaging, and ambulatory surgery. The building will also include support space for clinical and discovery research.

George Mason University is planning to build a digital innovation campus in Arlington, Va. Creating a collaborative hub for research, education, and entrepreneurship, the project includes the demolition of an existing structure and the construction of a 360,500-gsf mixed-use facility and parking garage. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering, the $200 million building will house the School of Computing, the Institute for Digital InnovAtion (IDIA), and corporate R&D labs with co-working spaces.

The University of California, Davis has selected Wexford Science + Technology and GMH Capital Partners to develop the first phase of Aggie Square in Sacramento. The two firms will finance, design, construct, and own the facilities, which will include 250,000 sf of classroom and co-working space, 500,000 sf of engineering, science, and technology space, 30,000 sf of ground-floor public space, and approximately 200 housing units.

Stevens Institute of Technology opened the $68 million Gateway Academic Center in December of 2019 in Hoboken, N.J. Designed by WRT, the 89,500-sf teaching and research facility is comprised of two buildings connected by a glass skybridge. The four-story complex provides 10 technology-rich classrooms, 13 labs, 45 faculty offices, conference rooms, reception halls, areas for student organizations, and multipurpose flex spaces.

Virginia Tech is renovating and expanding Holden Hall in Blacksburg. The existing 42,100-gsf building houses engineering programs in mining, minerals, and materials science. The project includes a complete renovation of the central structure, as well as demolition of two single-story wings and construction of a three-story wing and a four-story wing.

Orange Coast College broke ground in December of 2019 on the $68.9 million Language Arts and Social Science Building in Costa Mesa, Calif. Designed by tBP/Architecture, the 95,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, faculty and administrative offices, a dedicated suite with a computer lab for programs in English as a Second Language, and labs for sociology, anthropology, geography, and language arts.

The University of Maryland began construction in late 2019 on the $45 million School of Public Policy in College Park. Designed by Leo A Daly in association with VJAA, the 70,000-sf facility will collocate the school's five research centers and institutes, as well as accommodating 90 faculty members and over 1,000 undergraduate and graduate students. Featuring a biophilic design, the four-story building will offer five flexible learning environments providing between 25 and 150 seats.

Purdue University will begin construction in November of 2020 on the $40 million Data Science Building in West Lafayette, Ind. Providing leading-edge classrooms and learning environments, the 86,000-sf facility will include collaborative research space for faculty and graduate students from the College of Science. Supporting Purdue's Integrative Data Science Initiative, the four-story project will accelerate the university's strategic plan to be a national and global leader in the field of data science and education. Completion is expected in June of 2022.

Thomas Jefferson University is planning to build the $325 million Caroline Kimmel Biomedical Research Center in Philadelphia. Accommodating 56 NIH-funded investigators and their teams, the 12-story, 220,000-sf facility will enable the discovery of innovative treatments for cancer and other diseases. The project is designed to create a new research corridor and includes construction of a bridge to the adjacent Bluemle Life Sciences Building to foster connections with faculty and clinicians at the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center.