TOWSON, MD — Gilbane has completed the Health Professions building at Towson University’s (TU) College of Health Professions, which now serves as a community beacon for a new cluster of academic learning spaces. A dedication ceremony was recently held, led by Lisa Plowfield, Dean of the College of Health Professions, with remarks from TU President, Mark R. Ginsberg, and alum, Fran Soistman.
The 240,000-square-foot building was designed to meet the college’s focus on interprofessional practice as departments and faculty are integrated among one another, further enhancing collaboration and cross-disciplinary research. Health professions education and practice is supported by a centrally located, high-tech auditorium for collaboration and education.
Designed for high-performance sustainability by architectural firm Perkins&Will, the building fosters an environment for health and wellness and is pursuing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold Certification. Gilbane worked closely with Perkins&Will and trade partners to focus on ways to streamline the construction schedule, including the use of prefabricated exterior walls, unitized curtainwall components, and prefabricated racks of MEP components to achieve an aggressive schedule and deliver the facility.
“The building’s mechanical and electrical systems were designed, constructed, and tested to meet stringent energy standards and have set a new level of performance expectations for future buildings on campus,” said Robert Fisher III, Project Executive at Gilbane Building Company. “We are very proud of the new state-of-the-art facility that will support Towson University’s faculty and staff as they train and educate the next generation of health care professionals in Maryland.”
The Health Professions building houses departments of nursing, audiology, speech/language pathology, health science, interprofessional health studies, occupational therapy, and occupational science. Student enrollment is rising at TU and more academic space is needed, especially for these critical health professions. Previous space restrictions limited the college to enrolling 18 percent of applicants in these high-demand programs.
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This building is the third health professions facility completed by Gilbane in recent years. In 2019, Gilbane completed the Universities at Shady Grove Biomedical Science and Engineering Education Building in Rockville, Maryland. Then, in 2020, Gilbane delivered the Eustis Center for Health Professions Building at the Community College of Baltimore County in Essex, Maryland.
