Industry News

The University of California-San Diego (UCSD) will work with the Salk Institute to construct the West Coast's largest interdisciplinary brain-imaging research facility. Construction began in November 2000 on the $13.5 million, 6,500-sf structure next to UCSD's School of Medicine. Four functional magnetic resonance imaging machines'two for human studies and two for animals'will be housed in the new structure which is scheduled for completion in October 2001.The building was designed by RBB Architects Inc. of Los Angeles. San Diego-based Soltek Pacific is the general contractor.

The University of Houston has plans for a $45 million expansion and renovation of the M.D. Anderson Library, scheduled to start in late 2001. The architect for the project is Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott in association with Houston-based Morris Architects.

University of North Texas Health Science Center has plans for a $40 million, 180,000-sf incubator for biotech and pharmaceutical companies. The initial building would be shared with the center's School of Public Health, which is in need of additional space for classrooms, faculty, and computer labs. The plan for the incubator includes production facilities, labs, equipment, and opportunities to collaborate with the researchers. Depending on the growth of the incubator, a second 200,000-sf structure may be constructed exclusively for the biotech center.

Northwestern University has awarded the Chicago office of Turner Construction Company a $25.9 million contract for the construction of the 86,0000-sf Center for Nanofabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly. The new, four-story plus basement chemistry lab building will house 16 labs, faculty and graduate student offices, conference rooms, and support spaces. The project scope includes laboratory casework, fume hoods, lab equipment, and extensive M/E/P systems and temperature controls required to support the lab environments. Turner is the construction manager on the project.

Delaware County Community College has begun construction on a new 82-acre campus at the site of the old Downingtown Agricultural and Industrial School. The campus is planned to accommodate more than 1,500 students. Two existing buildings at the site will be renovated during the first two phases of the four-phase project. Demolition of other existing buildings plus new construction of 45,000 sf are scheduled for completion by January 2002. A date has not been set for phases three and four.