Collaboration

The University of Kansas is building the $82 million Earth, Energy and Environment Center in Lawrence. Featuring laboratories for isotope analysis, 3D visualization, and computing, the multidisciplinary complex will accommodate programs in geology, nanoscience, physics, chemistry, and chemical and petroleum engineering. The 130,000-sf center will also provide a 30-seat mediated synchronous collaboration lab and conference room, a 150-seat auditorium, and a 10-workstation suite for industry and academic partners.

Montclair State University dedicated the $55 million Center for Environmental and Life Sciences in October of 2015 in Montclair, N.J. Providing seven interdisciplinary research suites and six core labs, the five-story, 107,500-sf facility houses the Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, the Passaic River Institute, and the PSE&G Institute for Sustainability Studies. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the center offers classrooms, offices, seminar rooms, a 100-seat lecture hall, and a microscopy suite.

West Virginia University opened the $43 million Advanced Engineering Research Building in October of 2015 on the Evansdale campus in Morgantown. Housing the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the 63,000-sf facility provides 22,000 sf of interdisciplinary laboratory and research space and an 8,000-sf cleanroom. Classrooms, offices, and a learning center occupy the remaining 29,000 sf. The Advanced Engineering Research Building was designed Stantec and built by Massaro Corporation.

Defense contractor Riverside Research completed a $7 million expansion of its Dayton campus in October of 2015. The project features the 20,200-sf Open Innovation Center, a collaborative and secure research environment providing multidisciplinary lab space for the study of computational electromagnetics, sensors, optical lasers, and space propulsion and communications. The 30,000-sf facility features a plasma chamber capable of simulating space conditions as well as an EMI-shielded suite.

The University of Connecticut broke ground in September of 2015 on the $95 million Engineering and Science Building in Storrs. Supporting research in the emerging fields of bioengineering, nanomaterials, and virtual reality, the five-story, 118,000-sf facility will provide interdisciplinary laboratories, instructional spaces, and faculty offices. Open-plan labs will be located on three stories of the building, with the Institute for Systems Genomics and the Center for Genome Innovation occupying the remaining two floors. Completion is slated for summer of 2017.

Universities, independent research institutes, and medical centers looking to improve the quality of their research, recruit and retain staff, and compete for funding increasingly focus their attention on establishing core facilities, despite some concerns in the scientific community about where these core facilities are located and possible conflicts between the research groups vying to use them. Almost regardless of discipline, researchers chafe under budgetary constraints—no small problem in the “publish or perish” environment of biomedicine. The tools necessary for even the most basic of protocols are expensive, with cutting-edge equipment running into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is hardly surprising that new or remodeled facilities benefit from centralizing certain shared resources, such as imaging instruments, microscopy, cold storage, and animal facilities. But those resistant to the concept cite reservations about establishing accountability, prioritizing purchases, and ensuring equitable access. Do the benefits of core facilities outweigh these potential pitfalls?  

The University of North Dakota is building the $15.5 million Collaborative Energy Center in Grand Forks. Ground was broken in July of 2015 on the 37,000-sf facility, which will serve as a headquarters for all energy-related programs within the College of Engineering & Mines, including the Institute for Energy Studies. Providing advanced laboratories and multipurpose teaching venues, the project will support interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation among students, faculty, and industry partners.

The University of Central Florida is planning to build the $30 million Interdisciplinary Research and Incubator facility in Orlando. The first phase of construction will create a three-story, 67,000-sf building providing 31 research and incubator suites, many of which will include wet lab space. The multidisciplinary facility will house offices, lecture halls, and conference rooms, and will be used by researchers from the University as well as offering leased space for industry partners. Construction will begin in January of 2016 with completion expected by summer of 2017.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory opened the $59 million Chu Hall in September of 2015. Designed by SmithGroupJJR of San Francisco, the three-story, 39,000-sf facility will support research on electrochemical and photovoltaic solar energy technologies. Chu Hall houses the administrative offices of the Kavli Energy NanoSciences Institute as well as the northern branch of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, a laboratory created in partnership with the California Institute of Technology and funded by the Department of Energy.

Diverse projects in New York, New Jersey, and Maryland demonstrate that integrating flexible infrastructure, collaborative work styles, daylight, and sustainability all contribute to a “health-positive” scientific research environment, a concept derived from neurological and behavioral research indicating that access to natural light and human interaction improve well-being and productivity.

Carthage College opened the renovated and expanded Center for the Natural and Social Sciences in September of 2015 in Kenosha, Wis. Designed by Stantec, the $43 million project included construction of a 35,000-sf wing and renovation of the existing 70,000-sf facility. The interdisciplinary center features TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) classrooms and 12 teaching labs for programs in materials science, nanotechnology, engineering design, molecular biology, and atomic microscopy.

Scripps Research Institute is planning to construct a new 147,000-sf laboratory complex in La Jolla, Calif. Supporting the consolidation of research space to promote interaction and collaboration, the project will provide a 12,000-sf NMR suite and advanced laboratories for the study of immunology, structural biology, neuroscience, and global health. Occupancy is expected in 2019.

The University of Idaho is building the $49 million Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) on its Moscow campus. Designed by NBBJ, the 69,000-sf interdisciplinary research facility will provide flexible laboratory, office, and meeting space that can be adapted for use by faculty, staff, and student researchers from across the university. The building will feature a state-of-the-art visualization laboratory, core research space, and video conferencing suites.

Sacred Heart University broke ground in September of 2015 on the $45 million Center of Healthcare Education in Bridgeport, Conn.

Grand Valley State University dedicated the $55 million P. Douglas Kindschi Hall of Science in August of 2015 in Allendale, Mich. The four-story, 152,000-sf facility provides 15 teaching labs, 14 research labs, nine classrooms, conference rooms, study areas, a computational lab, and a 3,000-sf greenhouse. Research Facilities Design was the laboratory design consultant for the facility, which features interactive labs supporting a shared functionality in which faculty and students can engage in collaborative projects.