Animal Research

Texas A&M University is planning to construct the Clinical Veterinary Teaching & Research Complex in College Station. Page is partnering with associate architect Foil Wyatt on the design of the $181 million facility, which will advance veterinary education and drive groundbreaking medical research. Offering world-class primary care, the project will also provide sophisticated environments for student training and areas for clinical trials.

The vision of biomedical research as a collective effort is resoundingly clear in the $237.5 million Pelotonia Research Center, the first building to be completed in the 350-plus-acre Carmenton district on the campus of The Ohio State University (Ohio State) in Columbus. Opened in May 2023, the center integrates almost 100,000 sf of wet labs, 25,000 sf of computational labs, and 20,000 sf of core labs in a single facility designed to host interdisciplinary collaborations and public-private initiatives that focus on solving some of the most critical health challenges. With life science as the backbone of the research endeavor, current projects range from modeling cancer progressions to 3D printing of patient-specific anatomic models. 

How do you know if an existing building has what it takes to house a new specialty laboratory? The planning effort has to go beyond the typical process for a conventional lab renovation of defining program needs and investigating existing conditions. It must instead drill down into the unique aspects of the specialized environment, including illuminating the key attributes of the already-occupied and operational facility. 

Allentown, a premier provider of animal housing solutions, is partnering with The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) to launch a revolutionary home-cage mouse monitoring system powered by AI and machine learning (ML). This strategic collaboration is designed to accelerate preclinical research and improve the translatability of preclinical readouts to clinical applications.

The Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health in San Antonio illustrates the pivotal role location plays in enhancing the success of an internationally recognized research program. The Institute previously occupied two buildings at a research park 23 miles from the university’s main campus. University administrators wanted to collocate all research on the same campus to promote multidisciplinary collaboration and interaction, with proximity to all clinical research activities, and to promote efficiency and the shared use of resources. 

The decreasing amount of time researchers spend in their labs is changing research facility design and space allocation, with an increased need for lab support space, a more significant reliance on core facilities, the creation of additional write-up and data analysis environments, and the purposeful inclusion of collaboration spaces.

The State of Missouri broke ground in June of 2024 on a $151 million project that will collocate five agencies in one integrated location. Designed by Multistudio, the 208,000-sf facility will provide laboratories and support spaces for the departments of agriculture, natural resources, conservation, and health and senior services, as well as the Missouri State Highway Patrol. This centralized hub will enhance operational efficiencies by creating an ecosystem of resources that will optimize the delivery of analytical services.

The University of Southern California is planning to break ground in late 2024 on the $315 million Discovery and Translational Hub on its Health Sciences Campus in Los Angeles. Designed by SmithGroup, the seven-story, 250,000-gsf building will provide advanced biomedical research environments in a ratio of 75 percent wet lab to 25 percent dry lab. Sited atop two additional levels of subterranean shell space, the 150,00-asf facility will include collaboration areas, offices, meeting venues, a biorepository, and a core lab for medicinal chemistry.

Brown University began demolition in summer of 2024 to make way for the Integrated Life Sciences Building (ILSB) in Providence’s Jewelry District. Standing seven stories high, the 300,000-sf facility will provide six levels of wet and dry laboratories for research programs in biology, medicine, neuroscience, bioengineering, and public health. TenBerke and Ballinger designed the center with a publicly accessible ground floor that will offer a forum, gallery, and café.

Colorado State University broke ground in May of 2024 on a $230 million redevelopment of the Veterinary Health and Education Complex (VEHC) in Fort Collins. Designed by Clark & Enersen, the expansion and renovation project will feature a 213,000-sf replacement teaching hospital that will offer unique opportunities for immersive education. The sustainable structure will feature two 80-seat active learning classrooms with interactive workstations, as well as eight exam rooms equipped with advanced simulation technologies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture broke ground in June of 2024 on a new facility for the Dairy Forage Research Center in Prairie Du Sac, Wis. Created in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison's College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, the world-class complex will enable the Agricultural Research Service to work side-by-side with academic investigators to develop sustainable solutions for animal husbandry, food production, and water management.

The Pennsylvania State University’s four-story Animal, Veterinary, and Biomedical Sciences (AVBS) Building replaced a 1960s building with updated space for research, offices, and instruction. Situated on Penn State’s University Park campus, the $98.5 million, 105,000-sf facility brings two College of Agricultural Sciences departments under one roof for easier interaction among Animal Science and Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences researchers who conduct studies on nutrition, reproduction, and infectious diseases. 

The University of Kentucky broke ground in June of 2024 on the $285 million Agricultural Research Building in Lexington. Designed by BHDP Architecture and Flad Architects, the 263,000-sf facility will serve as the central research hub for the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette began construction in June of 2024 on a significant expansion of the New Iberia Research Center, the nation's largest facility for nonhuman primates. Creating an onsite BSL-3 laboratory for the study of infectious diseases and select agents, the $25 million project will enable the development of novel vaccines, diagnostics, and mitigation solutions. Paul J.

Washington State University Vancouver dedicated the $63.8 million Life Sciences Building in June of 2024. Designed by SRG + CannonDesign, the 60,000-sf facility collocates the university’s basic, translational, applied, and clinical health programs in a single integrated location. The three-story structure provides faculty research suites, classrooms and teaching labs for biology and chemistry, and specialized learning venues for courses in nursing, psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and molecular biology.