Animal Research

The University of Tartu has selected Nordecon AS to design and build a $12 million translational medicine facility on Toomemägi Hill in Tartu, Estonia. Construction will begin on the three-story, 61,484-sf project in summer of 2012. The center will be built as an extension of the existing Chemistry Building and will include an animal vivarium, research labs, a cleanroom, surgical suites, an MRI imaging department, offices, and seminar rooms.

The University of Texas at Brownsville dedicated the $34 million Biomedical Research Building in February of 2012. The facility provides teaching and research labs, classrooms, a vivarium, and faculty offices. Designed by SHW Group of Dallas with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 60,000-sf center supports research in infectious diseases, cancer, neuroscience, and animal science.

Texas A&M University is planning a $120 million expansion and renovation of the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in College Station. A new classroom and teaching lab facility will be built and the Small Animal Hospital will be expanded. The project includes the possible demolition or renovation of parts of the existing veterinary teaching hospital, veterinary sciences building, and administration building.

The University of Nottingham opened the $11.4 million Gateway Building in February of 2012 in the United Kingdom. Designed by Make Architects, the four-story, 33,368-sf facility features a straw bale curtainwall that provides robust insulation for the classrooms, research labs, and offices of the School of Biosciences and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Sciences. 

Emory University broke ground in December of 2011 on the Dual-Function Facility at Yerkes National Primate Research Center in Atlanta. Supported by $15 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the three-story, 19,800-sf building will house the Emory Institute for Drug Discovery and the Center for Innovative Genetics. The project will support research in emerging infectious diseases and will include vivarium space and procedure suites. Completion is expected in spring of 2013.

Louisiana State University broke ground on the $20 million Animal and Food Sciences Laboratory Building in December of 2011 in Baton Rouge. Designed to promote interaction and interdisciplinary collaboration, the two-story, 48,000-sf building will house laboratories and offices for the departments of Veterinary Science, Food Science, and Animal Sciences. Construction will begin in January of 2012 with completion expected by summer of 2013.

Colorado State University will begin construction in June of 2012 on a $19.5 million renovation of the Animal Sciences Building in Fort Collins. Plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and telecommunications systems will be replaced in the 41,558-sf building, which will house renovated teaching labs and classrooms.

InVivo Therapeutics has entered into a multi-year lease for 21,000 sf at One Kendall Square in Cambridge, Mass. The new facility will serve as the company's fully integrated global corporate headquarters. Bringing all of InVivo's business units under one roof, the facility will house corporate offices, chemistry and biology labs, s surgeon training suite, a rodent vivarium, and a cGMP cleanroom. Occupancy is expected in early 2012. 

The Institute for Animal Health will invest $126 million to build additional biocontainment laboratories in Pirbright in the United Kingdom. The project will support research in infectious diseases affecting poultry and livestock and will promote the development of diagnostic tools and vaccines. Occupancy is expected in 2016. The project represents a second phase of development at the Pirbright campus in addition to a $157 million biocontainment lab currently under construction and slated for occupancy in early 2014.

Virginia Tech opened the $105 million Infectious Disease Research Facility at Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine in Blacksburg in November of 2011. Construction began on the 16,000-sf BSL-2  facility in August of 2010. Also under construction is the $14.1 million, 33,000-sf Veterinary Medicine Instructional Addition. Work began on the building in July of 2011 and occupancy is expected in August of 2012. The facility will house faculty offices, teaching labs, and flexible instructional space.

Pfizer Animal Health opened the $7 million Equine Research Center in November of 2011 in Richland, Mich. The facility provides 24,000 sf of laboratory space for the research and development of equine vaccines and therapeutics. The center will house multidisciplinary research teams and includes paddocks and pastures for equine housing. 

The University of California, Berkeley dedicated the $267 million Li Ka Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences in October of 2011. Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership, the 200,000-gsf, five-story facility provides 30 flexible research labs, a teaching lab, lecture halls, seminar rooms, a brain imaging center, and biocontainment space. An animal research laboratory and vivarium is located on the basement level. The center houses the Henry H. Wheeler Jr.

Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System is planning to build a $127 million basic science research center and vivarium in Palo Alto, Calif. Construction will begin in 2013 and reach completion within two years. The 143,000-sf facility will house flexible, open wet labs to promote researcher interaction and collaboration. A 31,500-sf animal research vivarium will be located in the basement. 

The Institute of Animal Health celebrated the topping out of its £100 million biocontainment laboratory in Pirbright, U.K. Housing over 150 investigators and support staff, the facility will support research on emerging, existing, and vector-borne infectious diseases in animal and human populations. The general contractor for the project is Shepherd Construction. Occupancy is expected in 2014.

The Jackson Laboratory is planning to build a $1.1 billion animal research facility on the University of Connecticut Health Center's Farmington campus. The first phase of the project will include a 173,000-sf facility housing laboratory and vivarium space. The public-private partnership will support biomedical research for the creation of personalized medicine solutions. Construction will begin in early 2013 with completion expected in late 2014. The completed Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine will eventually total 250,000 sf.