EMD Serono completed construction in March of 2022 on the $70 million Horizon Building in Billerica, Mass. Designed by PM Group, the 149,000-sf structure provides collaborative research environments to accelerate the creation of specialty pharmaceuticals. The mixed-use R&D facility includes approximately 30,000 sf of flexible wet lab space featuring reconfigurable benches and overhead service panels with plug-and-play connectivity.
Virginia Tech began construction in April of 2022 on the $69.5 million Undergraduate Science Laboratory Building in Blacksburg. The 102,366-gsf facility will feature 26 wet, dry, and specialty labs designed to be flexible and adaptable to the current and future instructional needs of the College of Science, the College of Engineering, the College of Natural Resources and Environment, and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
Wake Technical Community College opened the $47 million Lilly Science and Technology Center in Morrisville in March of 2022. Designed by O'Brien Atkins Associates, the 66,000-sf facility features smart learning environments for programs in biotechnology and business analytics. Housing a biochemistry lab for training in raw materials testing and in-process sampling, the three-story building also provides a microbiology lab where students can learn best practices for gene therapy, genetics, cell culture, DNA manipulation, and industrial microbiology.
Kent State University broke ground in March of 2022 on a $72.3 million facility for the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship. Designed by Perkins& Will and The Collaborative to act as a new campus gateway, the four-story, 158,400-sf building will feature active learning classrooms, conference rooms, a business theater, a boardroom, a global forum, and a behavioral research hub.
Amgen broke ground in March of 2022 on a $550 million biomanufacturing center in Holly Springs, N.C. Accommodating the company's FleXBatch platform, the project will integrate traditional methods for drug substance production with single-use bioprocessing technologies to create a hybrid facility with unrivaled operational efficiencies. The next-generation plant will manufacture advanced therapeutics for the treatment of cardiovascular disease, cancer, osteoporosis, inflammation, and other conditions.
Bristol Myers Squibb is partnering with Alexandria Real Estate Equities to create a 427,000-rsf R&D center in San Diego. Located in the Alexandria Point development, the leased facility will provide core labs for the creation of advanced biopharmaceutical therapies. Housing nearly 600 researchers and staff members, the collaborative building will consolidate employees from several regional campuses into a flexible working ecosystem for discovery and innovation.
Arizona State University completed construction in early 2022 on the $192 million Rob and Melani Walton Center for Planetary Health in Tempe. Designed by Architekton and Grimshaw, the 281,000-gsf facility provides leading-edge research labs for biological and life sciences, engineering, and sustainability, as well as offering dry labs for programs in computing, cybersecurity, and robotics.
Eli Lilly & Company is investing approximately $700 million to create the Institute for Genetic Medicine in Boston. Located in the Seaport district, the leased facility will provide 334,000 rsf of leading-edge research space for the discovery of innovative RNA and DNA-based therapies. The project will also include a shared R&D center with dedicated and configurable lab environments to enable biotech start-ups to collaborate with Lilly scientists.
Marist College is planning a $60 million expansion and renovation of Dyson Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Housing the School of Management and the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the existing structure will expand from 54,000 to 110,000 sf to create a new campus hub for intellectual exchange and student collaboration. Designed by Ann Beha Architects, the completed facility will feature a soaring atrium, a 150-seat lecture hall, state-of-the-art classrooms, and specialized research labs for cognitive, developmental, and social psychology.
Piramal Pharma Solutions broke ground in February of 2022 on a £45 million antibody drug conjugate (ADC) facility in Grangemouth, Scotland. Accommodating both manufacturing and aseptic fill/finish operations, the structure will provide additional capacity for the creation of targeted cancer treatments and other innovative therapies. Representing an expansion of Piramal's existing ADC campus, the project is being delivered by Merit using its FlexiPOD V4.0 platform.
While creating generic/flexible lab spaces that can be adapted to a variety of different research needs continues to be the preferred approach—especially in higher education buildings—there is also a growing need for highly specialized lab and support facilities designed for very specific types of research. As a result, facility designers are increasingly tasked with balancing the demand for both open generic/flexible labs and specialized lab spaces in a single building with the added challenge of improving energy efficiency, sustainability, and operating costs.
Virginia Tech broke ground in February of 2022 on the $85 million Hitt Hall in Blacksburg. Providing an expanded physical presence for the Myers-Lawson School of Construction, the 100,000-gsf facility will enhance interdisciplinary synergies between the College of Architecture and Urban Studies and the College of Engineering.
Colorado School of Mines began construction in January of 2022 on the $18.6 million Labriola Innovation Hub in Golden, Colo. Designed by OZ Architecture, the 37,000-sf building will provide collaborative environments for hands-on learning and discovery. Featuring maker spaces, design classrooms, and team project spaces, the interdisciplinary structure will enable faculty, students, alumni, and industry partners to develop new solutions for critical societal problems.
XNRGY Climate Systems is planning to construct its US headquarters in Maricopa County, Arizona. Designed by Gensler, the $300 million facility will provide one million sf of advanced manufacturing space for the production of next-generation HVAC solutions. Accelerating research and development in key areas such as immersion cooling, the sustainably designed complex will enable XNRGY to meet growing demand in sectors including hyperscale data centers, life sciences, semiconductor cleanrooms, energy storage, and healthcare.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory completed construction in early 2022 on the $90 million Energy Sciences Center in Richland, Wash. Designed by Kirksey Architecture, the 138,000-gsf facility features 52 modular labs for fundamental research in chemistry, materials science, and computing. Accelerating the discovery of new energy, transportation, and manufacturing technologies, the state-of-the-art building includes an NMR spectroscopy suite and four imaging labs for advanced electron microscopy.
