Prominently located in downtown Wichita, Kansas, the Wichita Biomedical Campus is a new interdisciplinary health sciences hub designed to fuel the region’s talent pipeline and advance interprofessional healthcare learning. Developed as a joint project between Wichita State University, WSU Tech, and the University of Kansas Medical Center, the campus will serve as a catalyst for biomedical and healthcare education, improved patient outcomes, and partnerships in emerging research fields.
Upon its completion in December 2026, the initial phase of the Wichita Biomedical Campus in Wichita, Kansas will be an eight-story, 471,000 square-foot educational health sciences facility accommodating approximately 3,000 students and 200 faculty and staff. Envisioned as part of a broader healthcare corridor in Wichita, the building strategically collocates education, research, and healthcare services near hospitals and providers, strengthening collaboration and fostering innovative research. The first phase, which accounts for $222 million of the total cost, will open in spring of 2027.
Architecturally, the campus is organized as a series of vertically stacked “communities” and “neighborhoods,” reflecting the project’s multi-institutional collaboration and drawing inspiration from the Flint Hills geology and the surrounding urban fabric. A three-story, street-facing pavilion anchors the building and houses a community forum, the Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic, and flexible spaces that welcome both campus users and the broader public.
Inside, the facility integrates advanced biomedical research laboratories, general and specialized classrooms, an interprofessional simulation center, a student success center, landscape terraces, lounges, study areas, a grab-and-go market, workplace environments, and meeting spaces. Wichita State University and WSU Tech occupy the first four levels, with a shared simulation floor on level five, while the University of Kansas programs are located on the top three levels, balancing each institution’s distinct identity with shared spaces that encourage collaboration and cross-disciplinary learning.
As construction partner alongside the design team led by CO Architects as Design Architect and Helix Architecture + Design as Architect of Record, JE Dunn is helping deliver a future-ready academic medical campus that supports innovation, research, and the development of the next generation of healthcare professionals in Kansas and beyond.
