Sustainability

Nasa Ames Research Center broke ground in August of 2017 on the $40 million Biosciences Collaboration Facility at Moffett Field in northern California. The two-story, 40,000-sf facility will provide 19,000 sf of BSL-2 wet labs and support and 21,000 sf of office and conference space. Designed for ease of reconfiguration, the project will include interdisciplinary research areas, procedure rooms, a radiation lab, environmental rooms, and a tissue culture suite.

Rhodes College dedicated the $34 million Robertson Hall in late August of 2017. Designed by Hanbury to support an interactive, experiential pedagogy, the 55,000-sf science facility houses six teaching labs, five research labs, two classrooms, faculty offices, and collaborative study areas. The sustainably designed building features automated LED lighting, sophisticated building systems, and areas with floor-to-ceiling glazing.

NASA opened the 118,000-sf Human Health and Performance Laboratory in late July of 2017 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Designed by HDR to consolidate and replace several existing facilities, the biomedical research building provides 250 open workstations, 44 offices, 17 labs, and a variety of meeting and conference rooms. The flexible three-story project was designed to be easily reconfigurable to accommodate programmatic changes.

Colorado State University opened the $70 million Biology Building in August of 2017 in Fort Collins. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht to foster interaction and collaboration, the four-story, 155,000-sf facility provides technology-enhanced classrooms, teaching and research labs, a lecture hall, faculty offices, and collaboration spaces. The four-story structure features highly efficient building systems and has attained LEED Gold certification.

Five years ago, Tradeline sought experts to predict the future—specifically, the future of research lab design and construction. Today, we take a look back at those predictions, and gather some new ones, looking at trends in research programs and funding, and how those trends affect the decisions institutions are making when they build and renovate their laboratory spaces.

The University of Chicago is renovating and expanding the Laboratory for Astrophysics and Space Research. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the project includes construction of a two-story, 25,000-gsf addition and renovation of the existing 38,500-gsf structure. The completed 63,500-gsf facility will provide advanced research laboratories, offices, and collaboration spaces, as well as housing the Department of Physics, the Enrico Fermi Institute, and the Kadanoff Center for Theoretical Physics.

Valparaiso University opened the $30 million Center for the Sciences in August of 2017 in Valparaiso, Ind. Supporting STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the 55,000-sf facility features a collaborative interdisciplinary laboratory as well as labs for chemistry, biochemistry, and biology. The sustainably designed building, which earned a $150,000 rebate through NIPSCO’s Business Energy Efficiency Programs, features LED lighting and a sophisticated HVAC system that employs variable volume air handlers and energy recovery technologies.

University Hospitals is planning build the $24 million Rainbow Center for Women & Children in Cleveland. Designed by Moody Nolan, the three-story, 40,000-sf outpatient facility will provide pediatric and women’s health services. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will feature a bioswale and a partial green roof with an outdoor terrace on the third floor. Construction is slated to begin on the facility in fall of 2016 with completion expected in 2017.

Bayer HealthCare opened a $100 million pharmaceutical testing laboratory in July of 2017 in Berkeley, Calif. Featuring a sophisticated HVAC system with robust filtration controls, the three-story facility will support research, development, and quality control operations for the production of Bayer’s hemophilia A treatments. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

The University of California, San Diego will begin construction in summer of 2018 on the $608 million Living and Learning Neighborhood at North Torrey Pines in San Diego. The design-build project team includes HKS as lead architect and architect of record, working in collaboration with Clark Construction, associate design firm Safdie Rabines Architects, and landscape architect OJB.

The University of New South Wales will construct the $133 million Science and Engineering Building on its Kensington campus in Sydney. Designed by Grimshaw as an extension of the existing Hilmer Building, the 258,000-sf facility will provide the School of Chemical Engineering and the School of Chemistry with flexible core research labs, interactive instructional spaces, meeting rooms, and offices.

Randolph-Macon College dedicated the $17.5 Macon F. Brock, Jr. Hall in June of 2017 in Ashland, Va. Housing the departments of biology, chemistry, and environmental studies, the three-story, 30,000-sf science building provides teaching laboratories, research laboratories, faculty offices, and conference rooms. The facility was designed by Ballinger with Kjellstrom and Lee as general contractor. Construction began in May of 2016 on the project, which is expected to attain LEED sustainable design certification. 

The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa will begin construction in late 2017 on the $50 million Life Sciences Building in Honolulu. Designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the four-story, 45,000-sf facility will provide the College of Natural Sciences with classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, lab support spaces, and offices. Accommodating the departments of biology, microbiology, and botany, the building will also house the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and the Biological Electron Microscope Facility.

The Province of Alberta will begin construction in fall of 2017 on the $1.4 billion Calgary Cancer Centre. Designed by Stantec and DIALOG, the project will provide over two million square feet of space for research, treatment, and educational services. The facility will offer 160 inpatient beds, 15 radiation vaults, outpatient clinics, research labs, a clinical trials unit, and a 1,650-stall underground parking garage. The construction manager for the design-build project is PCL Construction.

All lab work—experiments, equipment usage, write-ups—occurs on countertops, but these flat horizontal surfaces are rapidly changing. “Today, lab work surfaces need to be adaptable, flexible, ergonomic, mobile, reconfigurable, versatile, sustainable, design-oriented, aesthetically pleasing, cost-effective, and easy to install,” says Arnulf Penker, president of FunderMax, a designer and producer of wood-based materials and compact laminates in St. Veit an der Glan, Austria.