Higher Education

The University of Nottingham began construction in March of 2018 on the third phase of the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences (CBS) in the United Kingdom. Located on the University Park Campus, the five-story 65,000-sf facility will provide biomedical research labs for the study of cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory, bone, and liver diseases. Designed by Benoy to promote collaboration by collocating researchers in one purpose-built structure, the center will include pedestrian bridges to the Boots Science Building and the existing CBS complex.

Leading optical manufacturer Zeiss broke ground in April of 2018 on a $37 million innovation hub in Karlsruhe, Germany. Created in partnership with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and located on the school's north campus, the ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT will provide collaborative research and development facilities for industry and academic startups such as Nanoscribe, a company focused on 3D printing and microfabrication. The flexible 129,000-sf hub will offer offices, meeting areas, laboratories, and production suites.

Angelo State University opened the $26 million Archer Health and Human Services Building in April of 2018 in San Angelo, Texas. Designed by PBK Architects, the three-story, 50,000-sf facility provides flexible lecture rooms, teaching labs, classrooms, a simulation training center, and faculty and administrative offices. The project includes a new academic testing center and houses the departments of nursing, physical therapy, and psychology. Construction began on the facility in December of 2016.

George Brown College is planning to begin construction in 2021 on the Arbour, a 10-story, 175,000-sf mass timber building. Located on a brownfield site on the Toronto waterfront, the net-positive, carbon-neutral facility will house the Tall Wood Research Institute, the School of Computer Technology, flexible classrooms, research space for sustainable building technologies, and a childcare facility.

Bayer Crop Science is partnering with the University of California, Davis to create the CoLaborator facility in West Sacramento. Located in Bayer's Innovation Hub for Crop Science, the 3,000-sf facility will offer open, flexible facilities to support university-affiliated startups. Housing up to ten researchers, the project will provide equipment for the testing of agricultural and food-related innovations integrated with collaboration spaces for interaction with other entrepreneurs.

The University of Otago is constructing a NZD$50 million animal research building on its south campus in Dunedin, New Zealand. Located near the School of Medicine, the five-story, 42,367-sf facility will feature advanced technologies to optimize the welfare of the mice, rats, guinea pigs, birds, and pigs utilized in the University's research programs. Construction began in August of 2016 and completion is expected in early 2019. 

California State University, Bakersfield is planning a $27 million expansion of the existing 17,000-sf student union. The two-story, 40,000-sf addition will provide a large flexible event and lecture hall, 12 conference rooms, student lounges, a game room, a loft, club project rooms, an interaction hallway, a food prep area with microwaves, and the relocated CSUB Food Pantry.

The Texas A&M University System is planning to construct the $22.8 million Veterinary Education, Research & Outreach Center at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. Strategically sited adjacent to the new Agricultural Sciences Complex and the relocated Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, the facility will accommodate programs for two Texas A&M campuses, Canyon and College Station. The VERO Center will offer classrooms, labs, and livestock facilities for experiential animal sciences education and training. Completion is expected in 2020.

Marquette University is planning to build an $18.5 million facility for its physician assistant program in Milwaukee. Designed by HGA and Groth Design Group, the 44,000-sf building will accommodate sophisticated classrooms, teaching labs, and clinical simulation rooms. The project will enable the university to address primary care provider shortages and meet increasing enrollment demand. The construction manager is C.D. Smith and occupancy is expected in summer of 2019.

Many young people entering academia and the workforce today have grown up with “maker spaces,” where equipment like 3D printers helps bring together teams creating in the physical world. The spaces—available in schools, libraries, and community centers, as well as universities and corporations—teach technical skills but also foster soft skills, like collaboration and project planning. Successful maker spaces can be popular and productive, drawing in visitors, donors, and prospective students. But they require thoughtful planning to manage the demand for space, and effective governance for budget, safety, and training, while also leaving room for the experimental and creative spirit the spaces seek to encourage.

Located in the historic Hood Park in Boston’s Charlestown neighborhood, Cambridge College’s new campus is a 108,000-sf fitout that includes 45 classrooms accommodating from 10 to 35 students, two teaching labs, computer labs, offices, and community space. Classrooms can be physically divided to accommodate larger or smaller numbers of students. The heart of the campus is the Town Common, a multi-purpose space that houses both Cambridge College and community events, giving the college a place to have large gatherings.

Seneca College is constructing the CAD$85 million Centre for Innovation, Technology and Entrepreneurship in North York, Ontario. Designed by Perkins+Will, the five-story, 274,000-sf building will offer integrated facilities for applied research and commercialization, specialized training, and business incubation. Supporting the development of industry partnerships, the project will provide collaborative laboratories, maker spaces, instrumentation suites, classrooms, and a large atrium and event space.

The University of Maine is planning to build the $80 million Engineering Education and Design Center in Orono. Designed by Ellenzweig and WBRC Architects and Engineers, the 120,000-sf teaching and research building will provide classrooms and labs for experiential, team-based learning. Supporting the expansion of UMaine's engineering program, the facility will feature capstone project rooms for multidisciplinary student collaboration. Construction could begin in late 2019 with completion expected in 2022.

Purdue University dedicated its $60 million, 122,462-sf animal sciences complex in March of 2018 in West Lafayette, Ind. Ground was broken in November of 2015 on the project, which includes the Hobart and Russell Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences, the Land O' Lakes Center for Experiential Learning, and the Purina Pavilion.

The trustees of Kent State University have approved a ten-year campus master plan that represents an investment of $1 billion over the next decade. Enhancing the iconic Front Campus, the three-phase project will create healthy living-learning environments connected by a walkable campus core linking purpose-built classrooms, labs, and studios.