Higher Education

High Point University is building the $65 million Wanek School of Undergraduate Sciences in High Point, N.C. Accommodating the departments of biology, chemistry, and physics, the four-story, 128,000-sf facility will provide advanced classrooms and labs to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Astronomy courses will be enhanced by the new 6,000-sf Culp Planetarium, a 125-seat facility offering a 50-foot dome with sophisticated audiovisual technologies. An adjoining conservatory will also be constructed.

After nearly a decade of gathering data about what makes a STEM facility competitive and attractive to students and faculty, EYP Architecture & Engineering has distilled five features that are key to radically redesigning successful STEM facilities. Survey results obtained from more than 1,500 students and 330 faculty members at six universities reveal the characteristics in a facility’s design that help make the institution more competitive, enhance the effectiveness of science and engineering teaching, advance faculty and student research, increase the students’ interest in the STEM disciplines, and promote welcoming places to learn, study, and interact.

Construction will begin in late 2018 on the £20 million Maritime Knowledge Hub in Birkenhead in the United Kingdom. Located in the Wirral Waters redevelopment, the collaborative maritime education and research facility is being created by a partnership of Liverpool John Moores University, Peel Land and Property, Mersey Maritime, and Wirral Council.

WVU Medicine broke ground in June of 2018 on a women's and children's tower in Morgantown, W.V. Located at J.W. Ruby Memorial Hospital, the $152 million facility will feature a 61-bed neonatal ICU, a 25-bed pediatric ICU, a 39-bed pediatric acute care unit, a 30-bed labor and delivery unit, and a medical office building housing subspecialty clinics. Designed by IKM, the eight-story tower will offer private patient rooms (with 11 NICU rooms for twins) as well as a pharmacy, a laboratory, an imaging suite, and operating rooms.

The University of Houston is building a new campus in Katy, Texas. Ground was broken in May of 2018 on the $32 million University Center, which will support programs in nursing, engineering, business, education, computer science, mathematics, psychology, and political science. Designed by SmithGroupJJR, the 80,000-sf project will also support online instructional programs. The general contractor is Tellepsen and completion is expected by fall of 2019. 

Rowan University and Rutgers University-Camden are building the Joint Health Sciences Center in Camden, N.J. Designed by HOK, the $70 million project comprises two joined buildings offering classrooms, laboratories, offices, and research space. Camden County College will also utilize the four-story, 95,000-sf complex, which will include a 30,000-sf simulation training center for Rowan’s School of Osteopathic Medicine and CCC’s allied health program.

Eastern Washington University broke ground in June of 2018 on the 101,352-sf Interdisciplinary Science Center in Cheney. The four-story project will provide a 100-seat classroom, teaching labs, study areas, offices, and support spaces for the departments of biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which will be physically connected to the existing science building by enclosed walkways.

Harvard University's Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) has created the Healthy Buildings Program to study the effects of the built environment on health, productivity, and wellbeing. The nine foundations of a healthy building can optimize occupant health, preferably in a smoke-free environment with active design to promote movement.

Cardiff University will begin construction in September of 2018 on the £50 million Innovation Central facility in Wales in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hawkins\Brown to promote collaboration between academic and industry partners, the 129,167-sf project will include the SPARK social science research hub and a business incubator with shared spaces, labs, and serviced offices.

The SPARK Academic Innovation Hub at Washington State University was designed to serve as a campus-wide resource, increase transparency on campus, and promote cross-field collaboration, enhanced by a combination of high-tech digital classrooms and informal spaces. The building creates a gateway to the southern edge of the campus, with its network of flexible, technology-enabled learning environments connected to a central commons, which serves as a public presentation and event space.

Marshall University broke ground in June of 2018 on a 49,722-sf facility for the School of Pharmacy in Huntington, Va. Strategically located on the Edwards School of Medicine's Fairfields Campus to promote interdisciplinary education, the three-story building will provide teaching, research, administrative, and communal spaces. Created in partnership with developer Signet, the $56 million project also includes construction of a five-story, 200-unit graduate student housing complex.

Montana State University Billings is planning to renovate an existing facility to create the 80,000-sf Yellowstone Science and Allied Health Building. Designed by Dowling Studio Architects, the $15 million project includes construction of a three-story, 30,000-sf addition providing 16 teaching labs, 11 research labs, classrooms, and a shared equipment core. Accommodating the growing College of Allied Health, the multidisciplinary project will feature an athletic training lab with sophisticated performance testing and measurement technologies.

Virginia Commonwealth University and VCU Health broke ground in June of 2018 on a $349 million outpatient facility in Richmond. Designed by HDR, the 16-story, 603,000-sf project will provide a consolidated location for VCU Massey Cancer Center's outpatient services, as well as housing diagnostic labs, imaging suites, a rehabilitation center, and clinical space for orthopedics, pulmonology, urology, and gynecology.

Williams College opened the $66 million South Science Building in June of 2018. Located in Williamstown, Mass., the 78,000-sf interdisciplinary teaching and research facility provides 30 laboratories, 31 faculty offices, a microscopy suite, and a machine shop with a design lab, 3D printers, and laser and plasma cutters. Designed by Payette to promote interaction and collaboration, the four-story, 78,000-sf building accommodates programs in biology, chemistry, and physics.

The University of Aberystwyth is planning to create VetHub 1, a human and animal health research facility in the United Kingdom. Located on the Penglais campus in Aberystwyth, the project includes the renovation and expansion of an existing 5,231-sf structure to provide three BSL-3 labs, two BSL-2 labs, and associated office spaces. The facility will support the development of new products, diagnostic tests, and strategies for the nation's agricultural, veterinary, and biotechnology industries.