The University at Buffalo broke ground in October of 2013 on the $375 million School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Located on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, the eight-story, 628,000-sf facility will provide active learning environments, surgical and patient care simulation centers, a gross anatomy lab, administrative and departmental offices, and 150,000 sf of flexible, multidisciplinary laboratories.
Montreal University Health Centre (Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal) opened its $470 million biomedical research institute in October of 2013. The project was delivered as a public-private partnership (PPP) in collaboration with Pomerleau Real Estate and construction manager Verrault. The building provides advanced laboratories for 160 research teams, a simulation training center, a cyclotron, and space for inpatient clinical trials. Occupancy is expected in January of 2014.
The $100 million MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper opened in October of 2013 in Camden, N.J. The four-story, 103,050-sf comprehensive cancer facility represents a partnership of the Cooper University Health Care and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Supporting multidisciplinary, team-based patient care, the project provides examination and procedure rooms, conference areas, a healing garden, and instructional and administrative space for the School of Radiation Therapy.
The University of Maryland School of Medicine broke ground in September of 2013 on the $305.4 million Health Sciences Facility III in Baltimore. The 10-story, 428,970-sf translational research building will provide advanced biomedical laboratories for the study of genomics, cardiovascular science, cancer, regenerative medicine, and neurology. The project team includes architectural firms HOK and Design Collective Inc. with Barton Malow Company as construction manager. Completion is expected in December of 2017.
Gold Coast Private Hospital has awarded Watpac a $148 million contract to build its new facility in Southport, Queensland. The 248-bed facility will provide an emergency center, 10 operating rooms, two cardiac catheterization labs, and a hybrid operating suite with advanced surgical technologies. The hospital will also accommodate medical practices in oncology, cardiology, urology, gynecology, orthopedics, and obstetrics. Construction will begin by year-end 2013 with completion expected in late 2015.
The Karolinksa Institute will begin construction in late 2013 on the $190 million Biomedicum research facility in Solna, Sweden. The project team includes developer Akademiska Hus, Berg/C.F. Møller Architects, and general contractor Skanska. Providing open, flexible labs for biomedical research, the 678,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will also house offices, conference rooms, and a large central atrium.
Cedars-Sinai Health System opened the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion in Los Angeles in summer of 2013. Integrating world-class patient care with medical research and teaching, the 11-story, 820,000-sf facility provides translational labs in close proximity to clinical settings. The pavilion was designed by HOK and houses the Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute, the neurosciences program, the Regenerative Medicine Institute, an education center with advanced simulation labs, and two floors of procedural space.
The University of Massachusetts Medical School is initiating an energy retrofit of the Lazare Medical Research Facility in Worcester. Airside solutions provider Aircuity will install demand control ventilation (DCV) systems on a total of nine floors, including eight floors of laboratory space and a vivarium level, to provide significant cost savings and optimal indoor air quality. The retrofit is expected to reach completion in spring of 2014.
The Hospital for Sick Children opened the $400 million Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning in Toronto in September of 2013. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and built by EllisDon, the 21-story, 750,000-sf tower features advanced laboratories, learning facilities, and interaction spaces to support collaborative biomedical research.
Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC) is proving that extensive planning and looking beyond typical short-term measures can net significant reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, as well as cost savings, even in high-powered lab facilities. In only the third year of a 17-year project, CUMC has realized a 4 percent drop in greenhouse gasses, and a 15 percent drop in utility costs.
The National University of Ireland, Galway has begun construction on the $27 million Clinical Research Facility and Translational Research Facility (CRF-TRF). The four-story, 57,000-gsf project is located on the grounds of University Hospital Galway to support collaborative research and patient care. The ground and first floors will house the Health Research Board (HRB) Clinical Research Facility which will include an area for the study of regenerative medicine.
The University of Michigan will begin construction in fall of 2013 on a $50 million academic facility for the School of Nursing. The 78,000-sf building will feature active learning classrooms and a technology-rich clinical training center with simulation suites. The facility will also accommodate a small number of faculty offices. Ground was broken on the project in April of 2013 and occupancy is expected in 2015.
With academic research funding either flat or slumping, it’s time to rethink current laboratory design standards. Concurrent with the funding slide is a hike in both direct costs (salaries, for example) and indirect research costs like spending on facilities operation, equipment, and labor. At the same time, the demand for space continues to increase unabated.
UMass Memorial Health Care opened its 14,000-sf Cancer Center at Marlborough Hospital in September of 2013. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the $12.8 million facility features an illuminated entrance pavilion, an infusion therapy space with abundant natural light, and a healing garden with a reflecting pool.
Winthrop University Hospital celebrated the topping out of the $65 million Winthrop Research Institute in September of 2013 in Mineola, N.Y. The five-story, 95,000-sf building was designed by Perkins Eastman and is slated for completion in 2015. The translational research and academic facility will provide classrooms, a clinical trials center, a simulation training suite, and core laboratories for the study of diabetes, obesity, cardiopulmonary disease, and neurology.
