Robert and Penny Fox Tower

The 89,700-sf, seven-story expansion of the Wistar Institute increases research space from 30 to 45 labs, with new support areas, including tissue culture rooms, fume hood alcoves, equipment alcoves, and a shared cold room. Each of the five lab floors contains an open-plan research lab for four professors and their research teams of 35 to 40 to work collaboratively on cancer research, genetics, and vaccine development. Flexible, moveable lab benches will accommodate changing research needs.

The new Robert and Penny Fox Tower, constructed in the expanded footprint of the former vivarium, forms a link between the original 1894 facility (the East Building) and the newly renovated 1975 Cancer Research Building (now known as the West Building). A new public entrance into a sun-lit glass atrium enhances the Institute’s outreach and visibility. The new 200-seat high-tech Sarah and Matthew Caplan Auditorium accommodates public events and scientific lectures.

The project includes a 50,000-sf renovation of the adjacent West Building to construct a new 22,000-sf vivarium with about 7,000 cages and 14 holding rooms, with room for potential expansion to 9,000 cages. The ground floor of the adjacent East Building was also renovated, to house facilities offices, cryo freezers, and future expansion of the vivarium.

The expansion and renovation project also includes upgrades to aging infrastructure with new high-efficiency, energy saving heating, cooling, electrical, and data systems.

The project allows the Wistar Institute to bring on 15 additional faculty.

Construction was challenging because of the constrained 1.7-acre site, and the need to not disrupt ongoing research, while replacing every major system, including heating, steam, chilled water, and air handling. Swing space for the animals in the vivarium was found in a UPenn building slated for demolition. Once the old vivarium was demolished, new construction could begin.

The independent, non-profit Wistar Institute is the oldest private biomedical research institute in the United States and originator of the Wistar Rat, the predominant strain of rat used in biomedical research today.