NASA Glenn Research Center will begin construction in fall of 2018 on the Research Support Building in Cleveland. Walsh Construction Company has been awarded a $32.7 million contract to build the two-story, 64,000-sf facility, which will provide collaborative engineering suites, open and private offices, conference rooms, training areas, and dining amenities for approximately 164 employees.
The United Kingdom's Medical Research Council is planning to build the £75 million London Institute of Medical Sciences. Designed by Hawkins\Brown, the 110,000-sf project will provide collaborative biomedical research facilities including two CL-2 biocontainment labs, vibration-mitigated imaging suites, core biotechnology labs, write-up areas, and a data center. The nine-story facility is being created in partnership with Imperial College London and will accommodate up to 45 research groups currently dispersed around Hammersmith Hospital.
Exact Sciences broke ground in August of 2018 on its new corporate headquarters in Madison, Wis. Located in the University Research Park developed by UW Madison, the five-story, 138,000-sf Innovation One facility will be fully leased by Exact Sciences. The $60 million project was designed by Valerio Dewalt Train Associates and is being built by general contractor Findorff.
Simon Fraser University is constructing the Sustainable Energy and Environmental Engineering Program (SE3P) building in Surrey, British Columbia. Designed by Revery Architecture with Research Facilities Design as laboratory design consultant, the CAD$116 million fast-track project is being constructed with 330 precast concrete architectural components supplied by Surespan Structures.
Atara Biotherapeutics opened a $55 million manufacturing facility in June of 2018 in Thousand Oaks, Calif. Designed by HPA Architects to meet LEED sustainable design criteria, the Atara T-cell Operations and Manufacturing (ATOM) center houses a 90,000-sf facility for the production of CAR-T allogeneic therapies, as well as additional R&D labs and offices. The project was developed by Sares-Regis Group with Atara signing a 15-year lease for the building.
The University of Edinburgh is initiating a £90 million renovation and expansion of the Darwin Laboratory Building to accommodate the School of Biological Sciences. Designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the project will include construction of two new laboratory buildings totaling 46,300 sf and a 21,500-sf hub providing meeting rooms, offices, and a café.
The College of Engineering, one of 15 colleges and schools at Cornell University, has 21 percent of the undergraduate population, 32 percent of the graduate population, and 10 percent of the square footage of the campus. As part of the college master plan, Upson Hall, originally built in the 1950s, and one of the largest buildings on the engineering quad, was in line for modernization. The plan called for improving energy efficiency, providing student and faculty collaborative space, and creating wet, hybrid, nano-, bio-, and chemical engineering labs. Since the building is well-located and structurally sound, with good floor-to-floor heights for labs, the decision was to renovate the existing structure, rather than undertake new construction. The project, a complete gut and renovation of the 160,000-gsf building, scheduled in two approximately year-long phases, was completed in August 2017.
Okanagan College broke ground in August of 2018 on the CAD$18.9 million Health Sciences Centre in Kelowna, British Columbia. Designed by GEC Architecture to promote interaction and integration between academic departments, the collaborative facility will be constructed to attain multiple sustainable design certifications, including LEED Gold, WELL Silver, and the Zero Carbon Building Standard. The project includes construction of a 30,139-sf addition that will replace an existing 1960s-era structure.
Rice University will break ground in August of 2018 on the $38 million Kraft Hall for Social Sciences in Houston. Designed by Rogers Partners, the four-story, 73,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, labs, student lounges, faculty offices, seminar and conference rooms, and a multipurpose venue able to accommodate 300 people. Kraft Hall will house the Texas Policy Lab, the Houston Education Research Consortium, the Boniuk Institute for Religious Tolerance, and the Kinder Institute for Urban Research.
Red River College began construction in July of 2018 on the CAD$95 million Innovation Centre in Winnipeg. Located on the Exchange District campus, the 100,000-sf facility incorporates a repurposed heritage building and new construction to create a dynamic crossroads with advanced facilities for applied research, entrepreneurship. and commercialization.
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is building the new Pinnacle Memorial Hospital in York, Pa. Designed by Stantec to provide integrated, patient-centric care, the 220,000-sf facility will offer 130 private rooms, surgical suites with robotic technologies, cardiovascular catheterization labs, a labor and delivery unit, a 14-bed critical care unit, and a 28-room emergency department. An adjacent 75,000-sf building will house an outpatient surgery center, an imaging suite, an infusion center, and other support functions.
The University of Vermont is planning to build the $45 million Biomedical Research Complex in Burlington. Designed by Payette and Black River Design, the project includes construction of a 60,000-gsf (35,000-asf) facility to provide flexible, collaborative research space for the Larner College of Medicine. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will allow faculty and staff to share resources efficiently across disciplines and departments.
Rowan University and Rutgers University-Camden are building the Joint Health Sciences Center in Camden, N.J. Designed by HOK, the $70 million project comprises two joined buildings offering classrooms, laboratories, offices, and research space. Camden County College will also utilize the four-story, 95,000-sf complex, which will include a 30,000-sf simulation training center for Rowan’s School of Osteopathic Medicine and CCC’s allied health program.
Eastern Washington University broke ground in June of 2018 on the 101,352-sf Interdisciplinary Science Center in Cheney. The four-story project will provide a 100-seat classroom, teaching labs, study areas, offices, and support spaces for the departments of biology, chemistry, geology, and physics. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which will be physically connected to the existing science building by enclosed walkways.
Harvard University's Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment (C-CHANGE) has created the Healthy Buildings Program to study the effects of the built environment on health, productivity, and wellbeing. The nine foundations of a healthy building can optimize occupant health, preferably in a smoke-free environment with active design to promote movement.
