Higher Education

The new engineering building at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) not only relieves overcrowding at the College of Engineering and Mines, it also cultivates interdisciplinary research and entrepreneurship, with open, flexible labs; the incorporation of computer science; and a direct link to the School of Management. These features combine to create an environment where students learn hands on how to solve problems and speed their ideas to market, in a facility made transparent with extensive glazing, both inside and out.

The University of Tennessee will break ground in fall of 2018 on a $129 million engineering building in Knoxville. Designed by McCarty Holsaple McCarty with SmithGroupJJR as laboratory planner, the facility will comprise a central structure with two wings of up to five stories. The 228,000-sf project will provide flexible classrooms and research labs, maker spaces, project rooms, informal interaction areas, an atrium, and dedicated space for the department of nuclear engineering.

Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health are planning to build the $80 million AHN Cancer Institute Academic Center in Pittsburgh. Located on the north side of Allegheny General Hospital, the 90,000-sf facility will house research and clinical space, including 49 chemotherapy infusion bays, advanced radiation oncology suites, and conference and exam rooms with telemedicine capabilities. The building will have two floors above ground, two floors below grade, and will be connected to the hospital's conference center and front rotunda entrance.

UC San Diego Health opened the $140 million Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion in March of 2018 in La Jolla. The 156,000-sf facility offers integrated translational medicine and clinical care in a single location, with multidisciplinary teams of specialists and comprehensive patient services collocated to support every phase of treatment. Designed by CO Architects, the pavilion houses eight surgical suites, basic and advanced imaging technologies, infusion and apheresis services, and the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center.

The Texas A&M University System broke ground in March of 2018 on a $42 million academic building in Bryan, Texas. Located on the RELLIS campus, the three-story, 68,000-sf facility will provide ten classrooms, over 40 faculty offices, collaboration and group learning spaces, and teaching labs for allied health and upper-division science courses. Completion is expected in June of 2019. The project is part of the planned 112,460-sf RELLIS Academic Complex which will accommodate 2,500 students upon completion. 
 

Tulane University began construction in February of 2018 on a $55 million commons building and dining hall in New Orleans. Designed by Weiss/Manfredi, the three-story, 77,000-sf facility will provide food service, study areas, two classrooms, conference and event spaces, an open-air courtyard, and a library and archives with a dedicated reading room. The project, which includes both new construction and renovated space at the west end of the Lavin-Bernick Center, will house the Newcomb College Institute on the third floor. Occupancy is expected in 2019.

Envisioned to create a new engineering complex with existing Rowan Hall, the new Engineering Hall is home to teaching and research laboratories for biomedical, civil and environmental, and electrical and computer engineering. The building includes laboratory support spaces, shops, classrooms, faculty offices, collaboration spaces, group study rooms, and student commons. The two facilities are connected by a bridge crossing a campus roadway.

Duke University began construction in March of 2017 on a $115 million facility for the Pratt School of Engineering. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the five-story, 150,000-gsf (88,000-nsf) building will feature two floors focused on active student learning, offering classrooms, teaching and design labs, a 200-seat auditorium, a Learning Commons, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the Center for Energy, Engineering and Environment.

The University of Reading began construction in March of 2017 on the £55 million Health and Life Sciences Building in the United Kingdom. Located on the Whiteknights campus in Reading, the four-story, 81,000-sf project will provide two floors dedicated to wet and dry research, as well as teaching labs, seminar rooms, classrooms, offices, and the Cole Museum of Zoology.

Concordia University of Nebraska will break ground in April of 2018 on the $24.5 million Dunklau Center for Science, Math and Business in Seward. Comprising 58,000 sf of new construction and 28,000 sf of renovated space, the 86,000-sf project will accommodate programs in biology, chemistry, physics, environmental science, computer science, mathematics, and business.

NextCorps opened an entrepreneurship hub in Rochester in February of 2018. Located in the Sibley Square building, the project was created by the University of Rochester, the state of New York, and the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

The University of Minnesota broke ground in February of 2018 on the $109 million Health Sciences Education Center in Minneapolis. Designed by Perkins+Will and The S/L/A/M Collaborative to support interprofessional education, the project includes the creation of a new 142,100-sf facility and renovation of 52,000 sf of existing space.

Western Kentucky University dedicated the $32.2 million Ogden College Hall in February of 2018 in Bowling Green. Designed by Ross Tarrant Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the four-story, 83,000-gsf facility provides a 300-seat auditorium, a computer lab, administrative offices for the College of Science and Engineering, and 36 laboratories for biology, chemistry, and physics. General contractor Whittenberg Construction broke ground on the project in April of 2016.

Sacred Heart University has transformed part of a former skilled nursing facility into a contemporary, residential life complex of single rooms and two- and four-bedroom suites, as well as an apartment for the resident director. The five-story Pierre Toussaint Hall is the university’s newest undergraduate dormitory located on the school’s upper quadrangle of the main campus, creating the first component of a residential village that will provide additional on-campus housing. 

The Core Labs at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia are run as a centrally governed “one lab” facility. In addition to successfully providing state-of-the-art equipment, training, and services to students, researchers, faculty, staff, industry partners, and collaborators, the core labs extend their services to external users, such as government organizations, research institutes, and other universities. By centralizing the business operations of 10 specialized labs, the model fosters collaboration, rationalizes necessary square footage, improves access to equipment and services, and eliminates duplication of resources, thus enhancing overall efficiency and reducing expenditures.