Industry News

FM:Systems released version 8.0 of its web-based FM:Interact Workplace Management Suite in August of 2010.

The Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification in August of 2010. The $7 million, 20,000-sf research and education facility is owned by the state of Mississippi and opened in December of 2009. Comprising five wings and an amphitheater courtyard, the building includes chemistry, biology, and microbiology laboratories as well as classrooms and offices. The project was designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent in collaboration with Studio South Architects.

The Wistar Institute is planning to construct a biomedical research tower in Philadelphia. The seven-story facility will house five floors of research labs as well as meeting space and an auditorium. Designed by Ballinger, the project includes demolition of less than one third of Wistar’s existing 103,750-sf cancer research building and vivarium.

AALAS has created a free comparison table for the 1996 vs. the 2010 Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. The guide is available online as a download from AALAS. These changes will be explored in detail at a Tradeline pre-conference workshop on November 7, 2010.

The University of Central Florida opened its College of Medicine in August of 2010. Located in the Lake Nona Medical City in Orlando, the $65 million facility houses classrooms, anatomy and simulation labs, and a medical library. Construction began on the 168,000-sf building in June of 2008. LEED sustainable design certification is being sought for the project.