Industry News

EMD Serono broke ground in May of 2016 on a $12 million expansion of its biopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Billerica, Mass. Accommodating 120 employees, the two-story, 30,000-sf facility will support the development of advanced therapies for the treatment of cancer and immunological conditions. The project will be constructed as an extension of the existing Sagamore Building and will feature open-plan work areas, a central auditorium, and numerous meeting spaces, including bleacher seating for spontaneous collaboration and interaction.

Stanford University has completed the implementation of a campus-wide energy system called Stanford Energy System Innovations (SESI). Replacing an aging cogeneration plant that utilized fossil fuel with grid-sourced electricity and an advanced heat recovery system, SESI reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 68 percent, reduces fossil fuel use by 65 percent, and decreases water consumption by 15 percent. At the heart of the system is the 125,600-sf Central Energy Facility designed by ZGF.

The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley has completed construction of a $54 million medical education center in Edinburg, Texas. The 88,260-gsf facility includes two buildings sited adjacent to the Edinburg Regional Academic Health Center. A three-story structure provides clinical simulation suites, digital anatomy labs, classrooms, conference rooms, and faculty offices. A freestanding single-story building houses study rooms, a student lounge, an auditorium, and a library learning center.

Yale University is planning to replace the J.W. Gibbs Laboratory on its New Haven campus with the 280,300-sf Yale Science Building. Located on Science Hill, the six-story facility will feature specialized research laboratories, underground core labs, a 500-seat lecture hall, and a shared commons area. A small greenhouse and a mechanical penthouse will be located on the roof. The Yale Science Building is being designed by Cesar Pelli of Pelli Clarke Pelli Architects to attain LEED Gold sustainable design certification.

Mercy Health began construction in September of 2016 on a $271 million medical center in Muskegon, Mich. Designed by HGA Architects and Engineers to increase patient care efficiencies, the nine-story, 267-bed tower will consolidate inpatient services in a single location as well as housing an emergency department, a trauma center, and surgical suites. In the design process, two-dimensional modeling of each floor progressed to architectural designs and then to full-scale models to enhance the success of lean operational strategies.