Coriell Institute for Medical Research broke ground in October of 2025 on a 92,000-sf life sciences campus in Camden. Created in partnership with NJEDA, the Lewis L. Coriell Medical Research Center will advance the frontiers of biomedical science to catalyze critical breakthroughs in cancer treatment, stem cell technology, epigenetics, and drug discovery.
The University of Alabama at Birmingham opened the Altec/Styslinger Genomic Medicine and Data Sciences Building in October of 2025. Designed by William Blackstock Architects, the $78 million project involved the renovation and expansion of the existing Lyons-Harrison Research Building to accommodate leading-edge labs, computational suites, meeting rooms, offices, and purpose-built venues for innovation and collaboration.
Arizona State University opened the Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building 12 (ISTB 12) in October of 2025, creating a vibrant gateway to the Polytechnic campus in Mesa. Designed by SmithGroup, the 173,194-gsf facility houses the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering’s new School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks. The three-story development will accelerate work in additive manufacturing, robotics, artificial intelligence, cyber manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, and clean energy.
Amkor Technology broke ground in October of 2025 on an advanced packaging and testing campus for semiconductors in Peoria, Ariz. Strategically located in the state’s growing innovation corridor, the two-phase project will offer over 750,000 sf of cleanroom space upon completion. The sophisticated hub will feature smart factory technologies and scalable production lines to meet evolving market demands for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing, as well as mobile communications and automotive applications.
In an era of expanding research portfolios and heightened expectations for interdisciplinary collaboration, universities face intensifying pressure to strategically plan, manage, and optimize research space. Research facilities, wet labs, maker spaces, core facilities, and computational suites, represent some of the most limited and costly assets in the academic environment. As competition for high-quality laboratories and specialized rooms grows, institutions are re-evaluating entrenched practices, strengthening policy frameworks, and adopting data-driven systems to ensure that space is allocated efficiently, transparently, and equitably. The most successful universities treat research space not as a static inheritance but as a strategic resource that must evolve with the institution’s mission.
Wayne State University broke ground in September of 2025 on the Health Sciences Research Building (HSRB) in Detroit to drive innovation and address regional healthcare disparities. Designed by HKS, the 160,000-sf structure will accommodate leading-edge laboratories for the study of oncology, neuroscience, systems biology and immunology, and metabolism and infectious diseases.
The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality is renovating and expanding the Reedy Creek Laboratory campus in Raleigh. The $65 million initiative will modernize critical facilities and optimize workflows to support the wide range of services and tests that protect the health, safety, and welfare of state residents. Designed by HH Architecture, the updated complex will transform essential community infrastructure and provide future capacity for evolving program needs.
Ancora L&G opened a $165 million life sciences center in October of 2025 in Providence, Rhode Island. Located in the city’s I-95 innovation district, the 212,000-sf building accommodates 80,000 sf of world-class research space owned by and dedicated to the Rhode Island Department of Health.
The University of North Texas is constructing the Science and Technology Building on its Denton campus. Designed by SmithGroup, the $109 million facility will serve the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Health and Public Service, and other departments and programs.
The University of Oxford opened the Life and Mind Building (LaMB) in October of 2025 in the United Kingdom. Designed by NBBJ, the £200 million ($268 million) facility houses the departments of Experimental Psychology and Biology, the latter including the departments of Plant Sciences and Zoology. The 270,000-sf structure provides high-performance wet and dry labs for learning and research, lecture theaters, classrooms, and conference and seminar rooms, with a teaching center on the ground floor.
More and more universities are building their scientific research centers around cores of huge, heavy, yet surprisingly delicate equipment. Building a core laboratory facility forces architects and campus planners to think about logistics, timing, and backup systems to a level of detail probably more familiar to NASA engineers than institutional architects. As the team behind Emory University’s new Health Sciences Research Building II (HSRB-II) learned, a huge range of factors—in their case, everything from the amount of rebar in the flooring to the width of the corridors to shipping velocity on the Suez Canal—must be reckoned with before such a facility is completed.
Procter & Gamble is engaged in a $450 million expansion of the Mason Business Center in Ohio. Designed by HDR, the transformative project comprises two new three-story buildings that will provide best-in-class laboratory and office space to catalyze R&D innovation. Researchers with diverse domains of expertise will be strategically colocated to drive collaboration and streamline the implementation of new technologies.
The University of Louisville's J.B. Speed School of Engineering opened the Student Success & Research Building in September of 2025 in Kentucky. The 114,000-sf facility was designed by SmithGroup and Luckett & Farley to offer a maker space, modern classrooms, laboratories, conference rooms, and teamwork areas.
Eli Lilly and Company is constructing the $4.5 billion Lilly Medicine Foundry in Lebanon, Ind. The 1.2 million-sf center will combine research and advanced manufacturing with the latest technology to innovate new production methods and scale global access to medicines for clinical trials. Featuring a flexible layout, the seven-building complex will create various molecular therapies, including drug substances for small molecules, biologics, and nucleic acid therapeutics.
Columbia University’s acting president, Claire Shipman, has announced plans to visit Washington, D.C., to discuss possible models for changes to indirect cost recovery rates. In February of 2025, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced that allocations for costs that maintain the infrastructure and administrative support for federally funded research would be capped at 15 percent, whereas previous policies allowed higher education institutions to negotiate agreements individually.
