Animal Research

The Wistar Institute completed the $100 million Robert and Penny Fox Tower in Philadelphia in September of 2014. Designed by Ballinger to promote interaction and collaboration, the seven-story, 89,000-gsf facility provides advanced biomedical research space for the study of cancer, genetics, and vaccine development. Located on the University of Pennsylvania campus, the project represents an expansion of Wistar's existing facilities and increased the number of labs from 30 to 46, as well as delivering upgraded building infrastructure systems.

High-performance core facilities, spurred by proliferating cross-disciplinary investigations and technological advances, can benefit from the long-standing focus on flexibility that has generated so many design efficiencies in the traditional research lab, says Randy Kray, senior vice president and science and technology director of programming and planning at HOK.

The University of Iowa completed construction of the $126 million Pappajohn Biomedical Discovery Building in July of 2014 in Iowa City. The six-story, 200,000-sf facility provides advanced research laboratories for faculty from the UI Carver College of Medicine. The interdisciplinary project was designed by Gwathmey-Siegel in collaboration with Rohrbach & Associates with Payette as laboratory design consultant.

Louisiana State University opened the $14 million Animal and Food Sciences Laboratories Building in August of 2014 in Baton Rouge. The two-story, 49,000-sf facility provides labs, offices, conference rooms, and a classroom. Accommodating LSU's food, animal and veterinary science programs, the AgCenter features a food incubator and core facilities for sample processing and other services. Construction began on the facility in January of 2012. The total project cost was over $20 million.

WIRB-Copernicus Group (WCG), a global provider of regulatory and ethical review services for clinical research, acquired Alliance Biosciences in July of 2014. With this addition, WCG Biosafety will be able to manage the entire continuum of biocontainment oversight, helping to ensure that research involving potentially hazardous agents and vectors complies with the appropriate regulatory requirements from laboratory design and drug discovery through clinical testing and therapeutic application.

The Pirbright Institute broke ground in July of 2014 on the $26 million Avian Diseases Lab in the United Kingdom. The 38,000-sf facility will provide CL-2 biocontainment space for in vitro research on infectious diseases affecting poultry and other livestock. Housing up to 90 scientists, the project will support the relocation of the Avian Viral Diseases program from Compton to Pirbright.
 

Murray State University will begin building the $36.6 million Breathitt Veterinary Center in September of 2014 in Hopkinsville, Ky. Designed by Foil Wyatt Architects & Planners, the 61,000-sf facility will open in 2016. Additionally, work will begin in February of 2015 on the $36.8 million Engineering and Physics building; completion is slated for August of 2016.

United Therapeutics is planning to build a biomedical R&D facility in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Comprising 250,000 sf of new construction and 150,000 sf of renovated space, the project will provide vivarium space for pigs and xenotransplantation research laboratories. The facility will enable the creation of genetically modified pig embryos which grow to be born with human lungs that can be harvested for transplants and tissue grafts.

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is partnering with Wuhan Frasergen Bioinformatics to create a biomedical research center in Wuhan, China. The facility will support the transfer of basic research to clinical care to provide personalized medicine solutions for cancer and hereditary diseases. JAX's immunocompromised mice will be used as hosts for tumors donated by Chinese patients to enable the development of pharmaceutical therapies.

Ohio State University is planning a $32 million expansion and renovation of the Veterinary Medical Center in Columbus. The Hospital for Companion Animals will be renovated and a three-story addition will be built to accommodate faculty offices and conference rooms. The 57,000-sf project will include updated clinical, emergency, and surgery facilities.

The key to fully leveraging a building automation system (BAS) in animal research facilities is to put all of the information about the animals’ environment at staff’s literal fingertips with tablet computing. Additionally, a few simple upgrades—some derived from unlikely sources—can help reduce costs associated with controlling two of the industry’s primary concerns: ammonia detection and airflow.

The Pirbright Institute has awarded John Sisk & Son a $28.6 million contract to build a research facility for the study of livestock diseases. The two-story, 43,000-sf project is referred to as the CL2 Laboratory and will accommodate 90 scientists. BREAAM Excellent sustainable design certification will be sought for the biocontainment level two facility. The lab is part of a planned $168 million expansion of the Pirbright campus that will include a $118 million facility supporting avian disease research.

The University of Colorado is planning to renovate an existing facility in Boulder to accommodate life sciences research. Providing vivarium and laboratory space, the 60,000-sf facility will enable several animal research programs to be consolidated in a single location. The cost of the purchasing the property is $7.5 million and the University will invest $10.4 million to renovate the building. Construction is expected to begin in spring of 2015 with occupancy in the fall.

Texas A&M University broke ground on a $120 million expansion and renovation of the Veterinary & Biomedical Sciences Education Complex in late April of 2014 in College Station. Designed by SHW Group, the project includes construction of a 330,000-sf facility providing flexible classrooms and laboratories for teaching and research. The existing Small Animal Hospital will also be renovated and expanded. The $93 million construction contract has been awarded to Skanska USA Building and completion is expected in April of 2016.

The University of Washington is planning to build the Animal Research and Care Facility in Seattle. The two-story, subterranean building will provide flexible housing for rodents, pigs, dogs, and non-human primates. Providing approximately 83,000 gsf below grade and 3,000 gsf above grade, the facility will include laboratories, procedure rooms, imaging suites, cage and equipment wash, storage, and other support spaces. The $123.5 million project will consolidate the University’s existing animal research operations into one centralized facility.