Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Ohio State University Approves Two Major Construction Projects

  • By Matt Jones
  • 05/25/23

The Board of Trustees at Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio, recently approved two major construction projects on education and research facilities, according to local news. At its May 18 meeting, it approved contracts for the renovation of Campbell Hall—part of the College of Education and Human Ecology—as well as Phase 2 of the new Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex (BMEC) for the College of Engineering.

 BMEC Phase 2 will cost $90 million and measure in at 125,000 square feet. Phase 1 of the project, the Mars G. Fontana Laboratories, was completed in August 2020 and united the Biomedical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering Departments. Phase 2 of the project, nicknamed “The Gateway to Engineering,” will include amenities like STEM-focused teaching labs, a Leadership Suite for College of Engineering Leadership, and space for the materials research group from the Department of Electrical Engineering. The new facility is scheduled for completion in Sept. 2025.

Meanwhile, the Board also approved the last $49 million for the $61.2-million renovation of Campbell Hall, home to the College of Education and Human Ecology. Funding is coming from private donations, state-awarded funds, and university funds, according to a university news release. Completion is scheduled for June 2025.

“This supports the College of Education and Human Ecology’s educational goals and admissions by providing an updated space for collaborative work and a hands-on learning environment,” said Mark Conselyea, Facilities Operations and Development vice president. “The project renovates 115,000 square feet of existing offices, research and computer labs, a teaching kitchen, and classrooms.”

Local news reports that the university is also finishing construction on a number of projects scheduled to open in coming months. The five-story Pelotonia Research Center celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony earlier this month. Renovations to Newton Hall, part of the College of Nursing, will debut in June. The James Outpatient Care facility—an outpatient cancer research and treatment facility—is planned to open in July. Construction on the university’s new Arts District will finish with the completion of the new Department of Theatre, Film, and Media Arts building scheduled to open in time for the fall. And the 66,000-square-foot Energy Advancement and Innovation Center is anticipated to open in October.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Spaces4Learning Launches 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey

    Spaces4Learning recently launched the 2026 Facilities and Construction Brief Survey, which collects data on the previous year’s K–12 and higher education construction projects nationwide.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Lawrence Group Announces Three New Hires

    Integrated planning and design firm Lawrence Group, based in St. Louis, Mo., recently welcomed three new staff members, according to a news release.