The University of Colorado is building the $61.4 million William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Colorado Springs. Designed by HOK and RTA Architects, the 104,000-sf facility will be the first of its kind to integrate undergraduate and graduate education with clinical practice and research in a sports medicine and performance environment.
Banner – University Medical Center Tucson opened a $446 million patient tower in April of 2019. Creating a new main entry for the hospital, the nine-story, 670,000-sf facility provides 228 private patient rooms, diagnostic imaging and cardiac catheterization labs, interventional radiology suites, 20 operating rooms, and a cafeteria. The project team included architect Shepley Bulfinch, engineering consultants AEI and GLHN Architects & Engineers, and joint venture contractor Sundt DPR.
Miami University and The Pennsylvania State University have transformed outdated buildings into modern STEM teaching and research centers while maintaining some of each building’s historic aspects. The projects aim to replace siloed labs, dark corridors, and dated HVAC systems with collaborative research facilities and up-to-date mechanicals, recapturing wasted space to provide areas where students can gather. Swing space for affected occupants was crucial—Miami University’s Pearson Hall remained partially occupied during construction, while Penn State’s Steidle Building was vacated—as was clear and frequent communication with faculty and other building users. Both projects required fairly complex phasing.
The University of Toronto is planning to create Canada's largest university-based innovation node with the construction of the 750,000-sf Schwartz Reisman Innovation Centre. Funded in part by a $100 million donation, the interdisciplinary center will feature vertical gardens, soaring atria, and integrated collaboration areas, as well as offering leasable space for startup companies.
Boston University is engaged in a $112 million renovation and expansion of the Goldman School of Dental Medicine. Designed by SmithGroup, the project includes renovation of 53,100 sf of existing space and construction of a seven-story, 41,900-sf addition to provide a 140-seat auditorium, student collaboration areas, classrooms, teaching labs, offices, and clinical space. A new façade will bring natural light into the flexible facility, which will include a café and lounges for students and residents.
Old Dominion University began construction in February of 2019 on a $75.6 million chemistry building in Norfolk, Va. Supporting STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the four-story, 110,000-sf facility will feature 1,800-sf laboratories as a strategic recruitment tool to attract new researchers. Designed with abundant external glazing to put science on display, the building will offer classrooms, teaching and research labs, active learning environments, tutoring rooms, faculty offices, and a high-field robotic NMR suite.
IBM is partnering with SUNY Polytechnic Institute to create the AI Hardware Center in Marcy, N.Y. The project is one component of IBM's $30 million investment in the State University of New York system to support artificial intelligence-focused computer chip research, development, prototyping, testing, and simulation. SUNY will provide up to $25 million in matching funds for a combined total of $55 million.
Cal Poly will break ground in May of 2019 on the $125 million William and Linda Frost Center for Research and Innovation in San Luis Obispo, Calif. The four-story, 100,000-sf facility represents a collaboration between the College of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Sciences, the College of Liberal Arts, and the College of Science and Mathematics.
Marist College is partnering with Health Quest to create a $75 million, 100,000-sf facility for the Marist Health Quest School of Medicine in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Located on the Vassar Brothers Medical Center campus, the technology-rich facility will leverage artificial and augmented intelligence platforms, as well as Marist's advanced learning management systems, to transform medical education and the delivery of patient care. Occupancy is expected in summer of 2022.
Virginia Commonwealth University opened the $87 million College of Health Professions in March of 2019 in Richmond. Designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering, the eight-story, 154,000-gsf facility unites nine departments in a sustainably designed structure that is expected to attain LEED Silver certification.
Weber State University is planning to construct the $58 million Noorda Building for Engineering, Applied Science & Technology in Ogden, Utah. Designed by VCBO Architecture, the 143,000-sf facility will house the departments of computer science, engineering technology, professional sales, and electrical, mechanical, and systems engineering. Additionally, four centers will be housed in the collaborative building: the Concept Center, the Center for Technology Outreach, the National Center for Automotive Science & Technology, and the Alan E.
Kent State University will begin construction in April of 2019 on the $50 million Design Innovation Hub in Kent, Ohio. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the 68,000-sf project will feature two maker spaces, one housing 3D printing, laser cutting, and digital tool technologies, with a wood and metal shop offering space for prototyping and model building.
Auburn University will break ground in spring of 2019 on the $83 million Advanced Classroom and Laboratory Complex (ACLC) in Auburn, Ala. The 151,000-sf facility will provide five lecture halls housing between 100 and 300 seats each, six Engaged Active Student Learning (EASL) rooms, and 20 instructional spaces that can function as classrooms or labs to meet changing programmatic needs. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will be built by Rabren General Contractors. Completion is expected in summer of 2021.
Roads filled with driverless cars, ethical decisions left up to smart machines, and robots that help paralyzed patients walk again sound like elements of a best-selling sci-fi thriller, but these are just a few of the research projects planned at the University of Michigan’s new Ford Motor Company Robotics Building. Scheduled to open in early 2020 at the school’s main campus in Ann Arbor, it is the university’s first public-private facility partnership. The collaboration offers insight into facility planning and industry partnership models that are emerging to support artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics innovation, recruit top talent, and prepare new graduates with the skills needed to thrive in this burgeoning industry.
The Milwaukee School of Engineering is building the $34 million Dwight and Dian Diercks Computational Science Hall in Milwaukee. Designed by Uihlein/Wilson - Ramlow/Stein Architects to accommodate programs in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and robotics, the 64,000-sf facility will provide technology-rich classrooms, teaching and research labs, a 256-seat auditorium, 32 faculty and staff offices, a business incubator, and a data center with a GPU-accelerated supercomputer.
