Spanning academic teaching laboratories to state-of-the-art bio-containment laboratories for some of the nation’s leading medical institutions, MCA supports the academic teaching and research missions of engineering and the sciences. From planning and design expertise in laboratory safety, animal research, and equipment integration to meeting grant requirements for federally-funded initiatives such as through the National Science Foundation or the National Institutes of Health, MCA professionals have the bases covered. Being one of the largest campus energy users, laboratory facilities are approached with special attention to energy efficiency and sustainability, and MCA has been a corporate supporter of the Department of Energy’s Labs21 initiative for many years. Several of our science facilities have reached high sustainability objectives, including USGBC certifications up to LEED Platinum.

Student social and living experiences define the heart and soul of the higher education campus, and therefore facilities that support rich and meaningful student life make an indelible impact on campus culture. Including housing accommodations, student activity and recreation centers, and dining options, the spaces and places where students spend their ‘down time’ can forge an institutional identity lasting generations. MCA is pleased to have positively impacted the learning/living experience of many campus communities with nationally award-winning and published student life facilities.

Regardless of the competitive level of the institution, campus athletics serve as an important ingredient in the complex makeup of the modern higher education institution. Participation in athletics programs fosters institutional identity and pride through shared experience, is an important ingredient in alumni relations, and is a critical aspect for recruitment. Today’s scholar/athletes have increasingly higher expectations for the institution’s commitment to the athletics experience, and campuses often struggle to meet these expectations among the multitude of campus needs. MCA has successfully completed projects at every level of collegiate athletics and works with the institution and athletic staff to find solutions that are appropriate to the institutional mission, budget and aspirations. We also have a number of highly specialized strategic partners that we collaborate with for specific aspects of collegiate athletics that require unique skills, experience and benchmarking.

The modern academic campus is an immensely complex entity requiring a broad array of facilities and infrastructure to function. From administrative accommodations to maintenance facilities, central utility buildings and power substations, the scope of campus support needs is both broad and deep. MCA supports of our clients’ campus building, infrastructure and maintenance design needs for a vast array of project types and scales, from utility infrastructure work and minor building envelope remediation design through large capital projects.

As a firm that was formed to serve the needs of large institutional clients, MCA’s interest lies with accommodating the wide range of services required by these types of clients. Our projects for higher education institutions range from smaller “maintenance” design projects to very large capital projects.

Regardless of project scale and type, we service all with equal attention to the basics – program requirements, budget, schedule and aesthetic fit with the campus. Our professional services range from whole-campus building assessments involving millions of square feet of space, building envelope assessments and repair/replacement, through master planning, programming and our full range of specialized design services as described throughout our website.

We have worked with our clients through long term indefinite delivery/on-call/IDIQ contract arrangements and completed projects using design/bid/build, design/build and Construction Management delivery methods. For several clients we have provided unusual levels of project team integration typical of integrated project delivery (IPD) methodologies.