Latest Reports

Operations at the Specific-Pathogen-Free (SPF) vivarium in Australia’s Translational Research Institute (TRI) are likely indicators of trends in animal facilities across the globe. The benefits of automated systems for watering and cagewash, and a robust database to capture a host of operational details—from sterilization runs to task scheduling to costing—have been clearly proven. At the same time, new directions in research, such as study of the microbiome and the gut-brain axis, are sparking a greater need for germ-free and gnotobiotic facilities, a shift that leads to higher ratios of procedure-to-support space and increased staffing levels. The rederivation process and advances in animal health monitoring are also harbingers of change.

EMD Serono’s SagaMORE project—designed to enhance the company’s progressive work culture through employee engagement, well-being, and biophylic design features—demonstrates why human health-centered design is the new frontier in the creation of built environments. The office complex, comprising an existing office building and a recent addition, is the first new and existing building project in the U.S., and only the second in the world, to achieve WELL Gold certification from the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI).

Miami University and The Pennsylvania State University have transformed outdated buildings into modern STEM teaching and research centers while maintaining some of each building’s historic aspects. The projects aim to replace siloed labs, dark corridors, and dated HVAC systems with collaborative research facilities and up-to-date mechanicals, recapturing wasted space to provide areas where students can gather. Swing space for affected occupants was crucial—Miami University’s Pearson Hall remained partially occupied during construction, while Penn State’s Steidle Building was vacated—as was clear and frequent communication with faculty and other building users. Both projects required fairly complex phasing.

A focused and comprehensive programming process was the cornerstone of planning for a new 380,000-sf, seven-story research building at the Centre for Addiction & Mental Health (CAMH) in Toronto, Canada. The building is part of CAMH’s multi-year, multi-phase redevelopment project, which includes construction of new inpatient and outpatient facilities, an emergency department, administrative facilities, and a new research building.

Roads filled with driverless cars, ethical decisions left up to smart machines, and robots that help paralyzed patients walk again sound like elements of a best-selling sci-fi thriller, but these are just a few of the research projects planned at the University of Michigan’s new Ford Motor Company Robotics Building. Scheduled to open in early 2020 at the school’s main campus in Ann Arbor, it is the university’s first public-private facility partnership. The collaboration offers insight into facility planning and industry partnership models that are emerging to support artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics innovation, recruit top talent, and prepare new graduates with the skills needed to thrive in this burgeoning industry.