HEd Health Sciences + Technology / McMillan Pazdan Smith
HIGHER EDUCATION HEALTH SCIENCES + TECHNOLOGY
HIGHER EDUCATION
It is a privilege to have the opportunity to positively impact and help advance higher learning through architecture and campus planning. The MPS higher education team has designed over 500 specialized, award-winning projects, on more than 100 campuses, for more than 70 years.
Designing for colleges and universities today requires an ability to nimbly respond to changing cultures, pedagogies, and technology while integrating complex stakeholder groups and programs. Clarity in addressing these challenges, searching for solutions that solve immediate needs while providing enduring flexibility, is paramount. We share the passion of each institution and each campus served, aligning with clients’ aspirations, and placing their satisfaction as our highest priority.
University of South Carolina, Science and Technology Building also pictured on cover / in association with Page (now Stantec)
University of South Carolina, Prisma Health School of Medicine in association with CO Architect, Architect of Record
WE WORK WITH MORE THAN
HEALTH SYSTEMS IN THE REGION
MPS works with more than 18 health systems in the region and we’re committed to creating functional spaces that support the evolving needs of the health sciences field.
HEALTH SCIENCES
Modern health science facilities blend the best of healthcare, higher education, and even industrial design to create spaces where education, medical practice, and scientific research can thrive. McMillan Pazdan Smith’s dynamic team includes design experts from across our firm’s Healthcare, Higher Education, and Commercial practice areas to create laboratories and health science classrooms for a variety of specializations.
Collaborating closely with clients to understand the intended use of each space, we develop custom programs that address unique utilities, technologies, equipment, safety, and security requirements. Our designs integrate academic curricula and cutting-edge technology to enhance real-world learning experiences that align with leading industry standards, while fostering curiosity, research, and innovation.
Greenville Technical College | Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences
This campus showpiece project was designed with the intent to greatly enhance the quality and quantity of academic spaces at Greenville Technical College for faculty and students. The finished building is over 125,000 SF of classrooms, faculty offices, science and health education laboratories. It also contains 13,000 SF of community event space with a catering kitchen. The four-story structure is interspersed with dozens of collaboration and meeting spaces, along with a full suite of state-of-the-art medical imaging teaching labs. The project completed for the opening of the 2024 fall semester.
Greenville Technical College | Prisma Health Center for Health & Life Sciences
University of South Carolina | Science and Technology Building
AWARDS
Lab Manager Design Excellence Awards, Special Mention for Adaptive Reuse, Sustainability Category, 2021
Historic Columbia Awards, New Construction in Historic District, 2020
AIA South Carolina, Adoptive Reuse Merit Design Award, 2020
AIA Columbia, Honor Award, 2020
Built in 1974, the building was a windowless space in the west tower of the existing structure. By placing shared, public space along the perimeter and housing programmed spaces within broad expanses of glass, limited existing exterior glazing is optimized for daylight and views. This design strategy provides every classroom and lab with views outside. A three-story, glass- enclosed atrium replaces a former dark, one-story lobby and a monumental stair improves the connection and circulation. The result is three floors with 17 sustainable, state- of-the-art laboratories for honors chemistry, organic chemistry, general chemistry, and physical and analytical chemistry, fume hoods, and student lab stations, in an environment that puts safety and science on display.
University of South Carolina | Horizon 1 Research Building
Horizon 1 houses laboratories and offices for researchers from various academic disciplines who focus on “Next Energy” research. The programming efforts by our team, along with WTSL, SSOE, and SST Planners, created the document from which the new facility design was born. After analyzing the space and utility needs for potential tenants, SST Planners developed seven laboratory types to serve the building’s diverse users. Our designers then completed the shell building as phase 1, upfit labs as phase 2, and the three remaining floors as phase 3. in
association with WTSL, SSOE, and SST Planners
Columbia, Merit Award, 2012
Industry Southeast, Honor Award, 2013
University of South Carolina | Prisma Health School of Medicine
McMillan Pazdan Smith served as the local liaison and Contract Administrator on the new health science building located on the Greenville Campus of Prisma Health. The design features a large procedure room, multi-disciplinary labs, and the gross anatomy suite that includes a 20-station lab, a simulation center featuring 11 MET rooms, and standardized patient training exam rooms with necessary ancillary spaces. This flagship facility also includes a large reading room in the main level rotunda, information commons, administrative support areas, learning studios, classrooms, small group rooms, and a variety of study spaces for individuals and groups. Working with CO Architects, MPS played an integral role in the planning process, providing local expertise and construction facilitation services for this CM-at-Risk project.
Presbyterian College | School of Pharmacy
The addition of a School of Pharmacy to enhance an already strong focus on the sciences was an historic decision for Presbyterian College and the surrounding community. MPS turned an existing facility in the city’s urban core into a dynamic graduate venue for 300 students, with an aggressive construction schedule. Our team’s programming efforts created spaces to enhance a high retention rate with experiential learning opportunities through the latest in technology and hands-on interactive spaces. These include problem-based, small group rooms and study areas, models of retail and clinical pharmacies, and interactive case method lecture areas. Information Management was critical to the design as were the layout and location of patient assessment labs, IV preparation labs, and wet and dry labs to support both Biopharmaceutical and Pharmacy practice departments.
Mercer University | School of Medicine
As an important adaptive reuse project for Mercer University, the former Georgia Music Hall of Fame building in downtown Macon was renovated into a new medical office building to support the University’s School of Medicine. After a careful assessment of the existing three-story structure which sits on 3.2 acres in downtown Macon, our design team created a phasing plan to bring the building up to current codes and prepare it for medical office use. Programmatic elements include the interior upfit to comprise over 50 exam rooms, treatment rooms and specialized exam areas, a collaborative radiology / imaging and dialysis center, and administrative office space. A new exterior canopy was designed for the building entrance, and the three-story atrium was partially infilled on the second and third floors to extend necessary square footage.
Wofford College, Burwell Dining Hall
Lees-McRae College | May School of Nursing and Health Sciences
The new academic building houses two nursing simulation labs, an athletic training lab, learning labs, faculty offices, two conference rooms, and a replicated efficiency apartment. It is also outfitted with the latest technology including 3G Wireless High-Fidelity Human Simulators; a simulation learning system which facilitates evidence-based scenarios for students; software which captures, records, and debriefs simulations; an electronic record documentation and medication dispensing system; and a web-based experiential learning program which supplements and enhances curricular success and preparation for the national licensing examination. The brick and stone design compliments the heritage of the mountain campus.
in association with Aurora Design Architects
Francis Marion University | Luther F. Carter Center for Health Sciences
The Health Sciences building is designed to anchor the facility within the community at a major intersection in downtown Florence, SC. This state-of-the-art facility serves as a classroom and training space for medical and nurse practitioner students in a unique joint effort between Francis Marion University, USC School of Medicine, and Florence-area medical centers. The exterior of the three-story structure is inspired by the historic U.S. Post Office building directly across Evans Street. The green plaza and water features offer a welcome public space in the heart of this historic downtown district.
Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) | Carolina Campus
The main building is located on the former site of a 19th-century textile mill and includes an elevated outdoor plaza with the original mill smokestack. Programmatic spaces include technology enhanced classrooms, two 220-person lecture halls, an anatomy lab, mock exam rooms, osteopathic training rooms, several SIM labs, and faculty and administrative offices with support spaces.
The Osteopathic Manipulative Medicine (OMM) training rooms feature one master training room with video camera pointed on the instructor to live feed directly into the other training rooms. Simulation labs included patient simulator “Smart Dummies” for hospital room simulations.
Coastal Carolina University | Kenneth E. Swain Science Hall
The new science building was designed to reflect the university’s new vision and master plan to create pedestrian-scaled developments with historically-based architecture to match existing traditional buildings across campus. Primary goals were to help strengthen and clarify the campus’s collective architectural fabric, while further establishing a palette that could serve as a foundation for future buildings. Programming includes: biology, microbiology, chemistry and physics labs and support spaces; classrooms and a computer lab; faculty offices; health promotion offices and advising space; and a student lounge. These disparate functions have been organized around a simple c-shaped plan which affords all corridors views directly outdoors, with seating at the ends. In addition daylight filters throughout the building and between labs and offices. Sustainable features of note include forty percent processed water reduction, and views throughout ninety percent of the space.
Spartanburg Community College | Evans Academic Center
Our team evaluated existing conditions and provided a feasibility study for the conversion of the historic SCC Evans Building into a new classroom and administrative building. The project rebuilt most of the interior, with space for classrooms, labs, offices, a bookstore, study areas, and conference rooms. State-of-the-art labs are suited to the larger scale, maximum flexibility, and technologies sought for today’s more open, group interactive learning environments.
Upstate University of South Carolina | Health Education Complex
Our team successfully combined five different service areas under one roof to allow cost-savings through the sharing of functional space for offices, conference rooms, and meeting rooms. Two buildings with a connective breezeway combine the School of Nursing, School of Education, a Health and Wellness component, designed by Enwright Associates, and a bookstore with enrollment management services, prominently serving as the campus “front door” for students.
in association with Enwright Associates
Piedmont Technical College, Health Science Building
ON THE BOARDS PROJECTS
Cape Fear Valley Health System | School of Medicine
Cape Fear Valley Health in partnership with Methodist University is establishing a medical school to be constructed on Cape Fear Valley Health’s campus. The goal is to bridge the gap of physician density in Cumberland County which is lower than the state and national level. Cape Fear Valley engaged MPS to design a facility that could house 120 students in the first and second year classes but also account for a future increase that is pre-planned with shell space on the top two floors. The main teaching space will have flexibility to be subdivided into smaller subsections. A secondary, smaller teaching space will accommodate up to 150 students in a theatre style setup. A standardized patients’ hallway with feature up to 10 “clinical facsimile” rooms for use with standardized patients, as well as a control and viewing center.
Coastal Pines Technical College | Health Sciences Building
The new Health Sciences Building on the Jesup Campus of Coastal Pines Technical College will provide new space for all medical-related programs on the campus. The building will include new space for Associate of Science Nursing (RN), Practical Nursing, Nurse Aide, and Paramedicine. It will offer classrooms and labs with each program, a science lab, and two general classrooms. Administrative space (faculty offices) and student break areas will also be included. The new facility will provide updated technology in labs designed to mimic current hospitals and medical facilities.
College of Coastal Georgia | Nursing and Health Education Building
In association with Savannah-based architecture firm, Cogdell & Mendrala Architects, McMillan Pazdan Smith is working on the addition and renovation to College of Coastal Georgia’s nursing and health education building. The project stemmed as a result of regional demand for training provided by the existing programming at CCG. The previous simulation labs did not support today’s education and hands-on training, both from a size and instructional efficiency standpoint. The original building was also designed without faculty offices, preventing student-faculty interaction and neccessary adjacencies to support student success. The new addition will provide both state-of-the-art training spaces with specialized simulation and instruction labs, as well as create office and support space.
Piedmont Technical College | Health Sciences Building
The original building was constructed 20 years ago, and the renovation takes into account new spaces and systems that accommodate state-of-the-art equipment and simulation areas. The goal is to showcase space in highly accessible areas for “Science on Display,” and key spaces of focus (based on feedback sessions) include: computer labs, simulation labs, specific equipment, and student study space. Spatial goals accomodate a layout that takes into account safety, quality equipment and materials, flexibility to co-locate supporting programs, and optimal room proportions for clear visuals. In addition to the upgrades across two buildings, MPS will complete programming, design, and construction of the expansion.
