HGA Completes STEM Building at Lehigh University

Design firm HGA recently finished construction on a new STEM-oriented building for Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. The Health | Science | Technology (HST) building is located in the northeast corner of campus and plays home to the university’s new College of Health, according to a press release. It will offer research space for public health, supports chemistry, materials science and biological science, among other subjects.

Lehigh University Health | Science | Technology Building
Photos courtesy of HGA

The five-story building offers amenities like open laboratories that can accommodate increasing and decreasing research groups. Open lab zones include wet programming for Energy & Batteries, Functional Materials & Devices, the BioHealth Initiative, and the College of Health, the news release reports. It also features shared meeting spaces, integrated work spaces, and several open areas designed to foster collaboration across disciplines and among undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff alike.

The building covers 189,000 square feet and offers easily reconfigurable workspaces, including the ability to move tables with overhead gas lines. Faculty offices are clustered together in an open office plan to create loosely defined boundaries while still allowing for collaboration.

Lehigh University Health | Science | Technology Building

Sustainability initiatives include a building sunscreen mounted along the building’s south façade to maximize natural light and visibility while minimizing glare. The building is also targeting a LEED v4 Gold Certification with an emphasis on energy and water efficiency. “The building employs numerous energy conservation measures, including an improved building envelope, chilled beams, natural-temperature supply air design, heat shift chillers, high efficiency condensing boilers, and ample natural light,” according to the news release.

Lehigh University Health | Science | Technology Building

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Texas K–12 District to Build New Elementary, High Schools

    The High Island Independent School District on the Bolivar Peninsula in Southeast Texas recently announced that construction on a new elementary school and a new high school will begin in January 2026, according to local news. Funding will come from a $27.9-million bond passed in May 2025.

  • Tennessee State University Gains Approval for New Engineering Facility

    Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn., recently announced that it has received approval from the Tennessee State Building Commission to build a new engineering building on campus, according to a university news release. The 70,000-square-foot, $50-million facility will play home to the university’s engineering programs and the Applied & Industrial Technology program.

  • FAU Starts Construction on Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building

    Florida Atlantic University recently began construction on a new academic building for its campus in Boca Raton, Fla., according to university news. The Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building will stand two stories, measure in at 22,000 square feet, and play home to the university’s Holocaust education and Jewish studies programs.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

Digital Edition