Higher Education

The visually stunning, environmentally sustainable Cornell Tech graduate school opened this September on New York’s Roosevelt Island—a 12-acre stretch of land in the middle of the East River between Manhattan and Queens—creating what is intended to be a leading hub for technology education and business innovation in the center of the city. The new school was developed in response to a competition announced in 2010 by former mayor Michael Bloomberg to develop an applied-sciences and technology campus that could diversify the city’s economy beyond its traditional finance, advertising, and media sectors. Ideally, this new institution will transform NYC into the Silicon Valley of the east.

University of South Florida Health began construction in September of 2017 on a $173 million facility to house the Morsani College of Medicine and Heart Institute in Tampa. Designed by HOK, the 319,000-sf project will provide laboratories, learning spaces, conference rooms, faculty offices, an auditorium, a clinical trials unit, and a cardiac care facility. Sited in a $3 billion development created by Strategic Property Partners, the building is located near Tampa General Hospital and USF’s simulation training center.

The University of Texas at Austin opened the $310 million Engineering Education and Research Center (EERC) in late September of 2017. Designed by Ennead Architects and Jacobs, the nine-story, 433,000-sf facility provides the Cockrell School of Engineering with multidisciplinary research labs, teaching labs, classrooms, meeting rooms, faculty offices, a three-story atrium, and a 267-seat auditorium.

Cornell Tech opened the first phase of its Roosevelt Island campus in New York in September of 2017. Representing a partnership between Cornell University and Technion - Israel Institute of Technology, the project includes:

The Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building at the University of Kentucky integrates multiple disciplines under one roof, for both teaching and research. The facility is designed to encourage discovery and support problem-based learning, with state-of-the-art undergraduate chemistry, biology, and neuroscience facilities; 12 technology-enhanced active learning (TEAL) environments; large tiered lecture halls; classrooms; and learning center spaces.

Monash University is constructing the Biomedical Learning and Teaching Building in Victoria. Designed by Denton Corker Marshall, the $81 million facility will feature four flexible labs that can be configured and conjoined to accommodate 60, 120, or 240 students. Supporting programs in microbiology, anatomy, biochemistry, immunology, and physiology, the 123,700-sf building will provide Physical Containment Level 2 (PC2) labs, technology-rich dissection labs, breakout spaces, and a 12,900-sf informal learning hub.

Michigan State University opened the $88.1 million Grand Rapids Research Center in September of 2017. The six-story, 162,800-sf project provides the College of Human Medicine with open laboratories to support up to 44 biomedical research teams. Designed and engineered by SmithGroupJJR with Ellenzweig as laboratory design consultant, the vibration-mitigated facility features core labs for flow cytometry, bioinformatics, and microscopy.

Sinclair Community College opened the $31.5 million Sifferlen Health Sciences Center in August of 2017 in Dayton, Ohio. Designed by LWC to support collaborative medical education, the 141,350-sf project included the renovation of an existing 80,170-sf building and construction of a 61,180-sf addition. Featuring advanced simulation training suites, the facility provides a centralized location for the college’s health science classrooms and will accommodate 53 degree and certificate programs.

The University of Maryland completed construction of the $169 million A. James Clark Hall in September of 2017 in College Park. Designed by Ballinger, the collaborative 184,000-sf facility houses the Department of Bioengineering and the Institute for Biomedical Devices. The multidisciplinary building offers flex classrooms, a vivarium, an atrium, flexible wet and dry labs, a high-bay innovation lab, and space for programs in biology, information technology, and mechanical engineering.

Murray State University opened the $37 million Engineering Physics Building in August of 2017 in Murray, Ky. Designed by Hastings+Chivetta with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 72,500-sf undergraduate science facility features collaborative teaching and research labs for biology, chemistry, engineering, electronics, astronomy, and materials science.

Under the leadership of founding dean Chell Roberts, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering at the University of San Diego is revamping its engineering pedagogy and infrastructure to incorporate abundant maker experience. Since his appointment four years ago, Roberts has overseen a 7,000-nsf renovation creating space to house the three phases of the engineering cycle—ideate, prototype, and realize—that replicate the industry model. The aim is to produce graduates who can hit the ground running when they move into their first position in the real-world engineering workplace.

Boston University opened the $140 million Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering (CILSE) in September of 2017. Designed by Payette, the nine-story, 170,000-sf facility houses the Center for Systems Neuroscience, the Biological Design Center, the Center for Cognitive Neuroimaging, and the Center for Sensory Communication and Neuroengineering Technology. The interdisciplinary building features a human Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) suite, a Siemens 3 Tesla MRI, and space for behavioral testing and computational research.

Concordia College opened the $45 million Integrated Science Center in late August of 2017 in Moorhead, Minn. Designed by Foss Architecture and EYP Architecture and Engineering, the 130,200-sf project included the renovation of the existing Ivers and Jones Science Center and construction of a three-story, 58,000-sf atrium. Designed to support interactive, collaborative learning, the interdisciplinary facility provides 19 teaching labs and 16 classrooms, including T-search labs for integrated instructional and research activities.

Armstrong State University broke ground in late August of 2017 on the $22 million Waters College of Health Professions in Savannah, Ga. Designed to accommodate team-based medical education, the interactive 75,000-sf facility will feature technology-rich simulation training labs for undergraduate programs including nursing, public health, physical therapy, and health administration. The project is being created in collaboration with Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, with which Armstrong State’s Savanna campus will eventually merge.

Binghamton University opened the $70 million Smart Energy Building in late August of 2017 in Vestal, N.Y. Located in the Innovative Technologies Complex, the two-story, 114,000-sf project accommodates research and development programs for the departments of chemistry and physics. Supporting the creation of advanced clean energy solutions, the collaborative facility provides laboratories, classrooms, 45 faculty offices, and a total of 125 fume hoods.