Baldwin Wallace University broke ground in October of 2019 on the $25 million Austin E. Knowlton STEM Center in Berea, Ohio. Part of the school's strategic plan to meet the needs of growing industries for skilled graduates, the two-story, 55,000-sf project will accommodate programs in data science, artificial intelligence, mathematical modeling, cybersecurity, robotics, engineering, and physics.
Singapore Institute of Technology broke ground in September of 2019 on the Punggol Coast campus. Strategically sited on two plots of land in the JTC Punggol Digital District, the project will provide 240,000 gsf of education, research, and innovation space, and will eventually enable the university to consolidate its six existing locations. Designed as a living laboratory for sustainability, the campus will be powered by a sophisticated microgrid, created in partnership with SP Group, that will supply gas, electricity, and thermal energy.
Gonzaga University will begin construction in fall of 2019 on the $56 million Integrated Science and Engineering Building in Spokane, Wash. Designed by SRG Architects in association with Integrus, the collaborative 82,679-sf facility will physically connect to the PACCAR Center for Applied Science and Hughes Hall to create a campus nexus for STEM education.
The University of Carolina at Chapel Hill approved a new campus master plan in summer of 2019. Focusing on renovation and renewal of existing facilities, the plan will support the creation of mixed-use environments, new transportation resources, and the leveraging of physical assets for innovative and efficient uses. Three guiding principles are shaping UNC's campus renewal:
The University of Glasgow is building the £90.6 million James McCune Smith Learning Hub in Scotland in the United Kingdom. Designed by HLM Architects, the seven-story, 179,111-sf facility will feature technology-enhanced active learning (TEAL) spaces, seminar rooms, collaboration areas, multipurpose classrooms, study spaces, and a 500-seat lecture hall. Multiplex is the construction manager for the building with SES Engineering as mechanical and electrical engineer.
Charles Sturt University began construction on the Stage 2A academic facility in June of 2019 in Port Macquarie, Australia. Designed by BVN Architecture, the AUD$40 million building will provide flexible instructional spaces, a laboratory, a student kitchen, meeting and breakout rooms, and an event venue. Enabling the university to support an additional 1,800 students, the two-story structure will be linked to the existing campus by a path with a timber bridge from the adjacent nature reserve.
Royal Caribbean Cruises began construction in June of 2019 on its $300 million headquarters in Miami. Located on Dodge Island, the 10-story, 350,000-sf facility will provide open-plan offices and collaboration spaces to promote connectivity. Designed by HOK to mitigate the potential risks of climate change, the structure's lobby will be located 15 feet above sea level, and critical building systems will be sited on upper levels for maximum resiliency.
The Harvard Allston Land Company (HALC) issued a request for proposals in June of 2019 for the development of a 14-acre parcel in Boston. HALC, the entity responsible for Harvard University's planned Enterprise Research Campus, is seeking a single partner with an integrated team of architects, engineers, construction managers, government-relations personnel, and financiers for the project. Uses planned for the area and approved by Boston’s development authority include:
The Rockefeller University dedicated the $500 million Stavros Niarchos Foundation–David Rockefeller River Campus in May of 2019 in New York. The 160,000-sf complex features the $300 million, 135,600-sf Marie-Josée and Henry R. Kravis Research Building which provides flexible labs, two amphitheaters, offices, conference rooms, a dining area, and outdoor terraces. The two-story, horizontally oriented structure was designed to enhance collaboration and can support over 600 scientific staff.
Virginia Tech began construction in April of 2019 on the $105 million Living Learning Community in Blacksburg, Va. Part of the planned Creativity + Innovation District, the mixed-use residential complex will provide multipurpose teaching and learning spaces on the ground floor, including teaching studios, seminar rooms, a performance hall, practice rooms, maker spaces, and shops for working with wood, metal, and paint. The upper stories of the three-wing complex will offer 596 student beds and apartments for faculty and visiting academics.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory broke ground on the $95 million Translational Research Capability facility in May of 2019 in Oak Ridge, Tenn. Located on a brownfield site on ORNL’s main campus, the three-story, 100,000-sf building will provide laboratory and office space to support research programs in computing, quantum information, and materials science.
The founding institutions of TMC3 have announced a new project team for their planned 37-acre translational research campus in Houston.
Universities have always been magnets for scholarship, but they increasingly act as magnets for economic development and community-building, as well. This trend has enormous implications for the future of learning, work, and real estate, as academic anchors look to leverage their ideas and the neighborhoods around them to generate entirely new industries and communities. The resulting developments, anchored by deep and diverse talent pools, in turn attract employers who are eager to collocate with universities to tap their resident brainpower.
Auburn University will begin construction in spring of 2019 on the $94 million Tony and Libba Rane Culinary Science Center in Auburn, Ala. Accommodating programs in hospitality management, the 142,000-sf complex will include a boutique hotel, a restaurant, a food hall, a wine appreciation center, a micro-distillery, a brewing science lab, a culinary exhibition lab, a food and beverage media studio, a rooftop swimming pool, and six leasable residences.
Johns Hopkins University is planning to create an interdisciplinary academic hub on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. Designed by Ennead Architects with SmithGroup as architect of record, the project includes the transformation of the former Newseum facility to provide a home for the School of Advanced International Studies, as well as offering space for the Carey Business School, the School of Nursing, and the Krieger School of Arts and Sciences.
