Higher Education

The University of Sheffield will begin construction in early 2019 on a £65 million social sciences building in the United Kingdom. Designed by HLM Architects, the four-story, 178,000-sf facility will accommodate 13 departments and multiple research institutes in an innovative working environment. The interdisciplinary building will provide a central atrium, collaborative lecture halls, seminar rooms, social spaces, study areas, computer rooms, a research hub, and a café.

Georgia Southern University opened the $23 million Health Professions Academic Building in January of 2019 in Statesboro, Ga. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative to accommodate team-based learning, the technology-rich facility provides advanced simulation training suites, clinical skills labs, and instructional spaces. Illuminated by abundant natural light, the sustainably designed structure features the 8,193-sf St. Joseph’s/Candler Nursing Suite and the Memorial Health Active Learning Studio.

More and more, workers aren’t going to an office and sitting at the same desk Monday through Friday. Today’s architects, builders, institutions, and designers need to plan for a future in which workers are nomads—moving from one place to another within a building or campus, or showing up in the office just one or two days a week. These nomadic workers are often mobile by choice, taking advantage of the flexibility that technology has enabled for academic staff, knowledge workers, and even healthcare employees.

Providence College’s 37,000-sf addition to the 70,000-sf Albertus Magnus Hall encourages collaboration among students and faculty within a multi-disciplinary environment for the departments of Biology, Chemistry and Biochemistry, Psychology, and Engineering-Physics-Systems. The addition creates a new front entrance for the teaching and research facility, which is Phase 1B of a $50 million multi-phased project involving three adjoining buildings: Albertus Magnus, Sowa and Hickey halls.

Santa Rosa Junior College is planning to build the $75 million Lindley Center for STEM Education in Santa Rosa, Calif. Designed by SmithGroup and Strata AP with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 92,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide leading-edge teaching labs and classrooms to accommodate programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Groundbreaking is slated for spring of 2020 with completion expected in 2022. 

Gustavus Adolphus College is engaged in a $70 million expansion and renovation of the Nobel Hall of Science in St. Peter, Minn. Designed by Hastings+Chivetta with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the project includes construction of a 74,000-sf addition on the south side housing classrooms, study spaces, and labs. On the north side, a 12,400-sf expansion will highlight student/faculty research projects and showcase the College’s signature event, The Nobel Conference.

LAVLE USA is partnering with Old Dominion University to create the $12 million Marine Electric Propulsion Simulation (MEPS) Laboratory in Newport News, Va. Supporting both military and commercial applications, the 22,000-sf facility will house sophisticated instrumentation for the development of electric propulsion, advanced energy storage, and autonomous systems technologies. Construction is expected to begin in summer of 2019 with completion in summer of 2020. 

McLaren Health Care broke ground in December of 2018 on a $450 million medical campus in Lansing, Mich. Located in Michigan State University's Corporate Research Park, the project will include a 240-bed acute care hospital, a cancer center, and a medical services building. Designed to promote academic collaboration, the campus will also offer facilities for research, education, and training.

Pomona College is planning to begin construction in 2021 on the $55 million Rains Center for Sport and Recreation in Claremont, Calif. Designed by SCB, the facility will accommodate Pomona-Pitzer's athletic programs as well as acting as the campus fitness and recreation center. Supporting enhanced student recruitment and retention initiatives, the facility will feature spacious workout areas, exercise studios, general and varsity weight training rooms, team meeting suites, and administrative offices.

Cornerstone College opened the $15.5-million Jack and Mary De Witt Center for Science and Technology in December of 2018 in Grand Rapids, Mich. Designed by Progressive AE to put science on display, the three-story, 30,000-sf structure provides seven labs, 17 faculty offices, a variety of instructional spaces, and group study areas to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Constructed using sustainable materials, the state-of-the-art facility features a two-story biowall that purifies the building’s internal air.

Stanford University is building the Center for Academic Medicine in Palo Alto, Calif. Designed by HOK, the four-story, 170,000-gsf facility will provide consolidated administrative space for clinical faculty, computational researchers, and departmental leadership. The collaborative project will include a conference center, a café, a fitness center, and a three-story, 830-space underground parking structure. Occupancy is expected in fall of 2020. 

Dartmouth College began construction in January of 2019 on a $200 million expansion of its engineering and computer science facilities in Hanover, N.H. Featuring a large central atrium and collaborative design studios, the 160,000-sf building will accommodate the Thayer School of Engineering, the Department of Computer Science, the Magnuson Family Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Dartmouth Electron Microscopy Facility. The interdisciplinary facility will be located on top of a three-story, 340-car underground parking structure.

The University of Colorado is planning to construct a $45 million Innovation and Entrepreneurship Hub in Boulder. Built as an addition that will physically connect the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the College of Business, the 75,000-sf project will include 45,000 gsf of new construction and 30,000 gsf of renovated space. The collaborative facility will provide technology-enhanced classrooms for active learning, an auditorium, a library, faculty offices, team rooms, a multipurpose event space, and an interdisciplinary entrepreneurship center.

The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston opened a $15 million facility for the School of Biomedical Informatics in December of 2018. Located in the Texas Medical Center, the two-story, 44,709-sf project is the first freestanding school of biomedical informatics in the United States and was constructed on top of an existing parking garage.

Nebraska Wesleyan University opened the $29 million Duane W. Acklie Hall of Science in December of 2018 in Lincoln. Designed by The Clark Enersen Partners to put science on display, the three-story, 80,000-sf facility provides six classrooms, 15 laboratories, faculty offices, study areas, and collaboration spaces for the departments of chemistry, biology, and psychology. Sampson Construction broke ground on the project in April of 2017.