St. John’s University Dedicates New Health Sciences Center

St. John’s University in New York, N.Y., recently held a dedication ceremony for the new St. Vincent Health Sciences Center, according to a news release. The fully-energy efficient, sustainable, and all-electric facility will serve as an academic building for the university’s healthcare students.

Amenities will include classrooms, laboratory space, and patient simulation spaces designed to provide immersive and real-world training. The university partnered with CannonDesign for the project’s design and Shawmut Design and Construction for its construction.

According to the news release, “[T]he construction of the St. Vincent Health Sciences Center involved the use of 1,137 columns and beams and 875 tons of steel. With a dedication to sustainability, the building is heated and cooled by a geothermal field of 66 wells drilled nearly 500 feet deep – only the second campus-based geothermal field in New York City. Solar panels on the roof and high-performance windows contribute to the building’s energy efficiency, helping it achieve its goal of LEED Silver certification and marking a significant milestone in St. John’s enduring commitment to fostering service, innovation, and academic excellence.”

Construction began in 2022. The $106-million facility covers 70,000 square feet.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • 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.

  • Virginia Tech Tops Out New College of Engineering Building

    Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., recently celebrated the topping out of Mitchell Hall, which will soon stand as the largest College of Engineering building on campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with Skanska on the 285,500-square-foot facility, which has an expected completion date of winter 2028.

  • Q&A: How to Prevent Kitchen Grease Fires in Commercial Kitchens

    School cafeterias and university dining halls serve thousands of meals daily, relying on high-heat equipment like fryers, grills, and ovens. While these operations keep students fed, they also generate significant grease-laden vapors. Without proper controls, this grease becomes a silent fire threat. As a certified exhaust cleaning specialist and business coach who has helped hundreds of institutional facilities achieve NFPA 96 compliance, I emphasize that proactive grease management isn’t optional; it’s a core fire/life safety practice.

  • Tomball ISD Opens New Tomball West High School

    Tomball Independent School District in Tomball, Texas, recently celebrated the official opening of Tomball West High School, the district's third comprehensive high school, with a community ribbon-cutting ceremony, according to a district news release.