On Friday, the University of Kentucky celebrated the official groundbreaking of a new Agricultural Research Building, which will serve as the central hub for the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (CAFE). The new facility will support innovative agricultural research and prepare the commonwealth’s next generation of leaders to respond to pressing agricultural challenges.

Partnering with architect of record BHDP, Flad Architects is providing architectural design as well as laboratory programming and planning services for the new 263,000-square-foot facility, which will be the college’s central research hub, replacing the lab facilities in two aging science buildings.

The new facility will include over 60,000 square feet of state-of-the-art wet and dry research and teaching laboratories supporting a wide range of CAFE programs including entomology, horticulture, plant sciences, plant pathology, and soil sciences. It will also feature rooftop greenhouses, classrooms, a 250-seat auditorium, and office and meeting spaces designed to encourage collaboration among researchers, students, and staff.

Scheduled to be completed in late 2026, the Agricultural Research Building is designed with a minimum goal of LEED Silver.

Flad is also partnering with the university for the comprehensive renovation of 120-year-old Scovell Hall, which will serve as the administrative center for the CAFE. Flad is working with architect of record JRA Architects on the Scovell Hall project, which launched this spring and is expected to be completed in 2026.