Animal Research

The University of Edinburgh completed the new Roslin Institute in March of 2011. The $97 million project houses animal health research and education facilities including the Scottish Agricultural College and the Royal Veterinary School. Designed by HDR Architecture, the building reflects the shape of a chromosome with strands of offices interwoven with strands of laboratories, connected by conference rooms and interaction spaces. The new Roslin Institute includes a 250-seat auditorium, a library, and a freezer archive.

The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources will begin construction in fall of 2011 on a $10.5 million dairy research and teaching facility in Saskatoon. The facility will house teaching areas, animal handling space, a robot milker, a public viewing gallery, and 100 cows. Completion is expected in fall of 2012.

AgResearch opened the Ruminant Methane Measurement Centre is March of 2010 in Palmerston North, New Zealand. The expanded facility features 24 sheep preparedness chambers, sheep gas measurement units, and four cattle measurement crates. The building is air conditioned for optimal animal welfare with doors that will automatically open in the event of carbon dioxide buildup or power failure. The facility will enable researchers to study genetic factors for greenhouse gas production in ruminants. The center can house up to 150 sheep.

National Cheng Kung University Medical College opened its expanded Small Laboratory Animal Division in February of 2011. The facility includes a 3,552-sf animal breeding addition. The project provides a sterile environment with HEPA filtration and individually ventilated cages to house animals used in biomedical research.

Abaxis will open the 20,000-sf Veterinary Reference Laboratory in Olathe, Kansas. The lab will be located in the former Osborn Labs facility and will support collaboration with the Kansas State University Veterinary Diagnostic Lab and the National Institute for Strategic Technology Acquisition and Commercialization. The facility will test point-of-care blood analysis instruments as well as providing veterinary diagnostic analysis services.

Southeast Missouri State University opened the $100,000 Beef Research Facility in Gordonville in February of 2011. Part of the David M. Barton Agriculture Research Center, the center will act as a living laboratory for meat production science and DNA sequencing for selective breeding. The project was funded in part by a grant from the Department of Agriculture and represents a collaborative partnership with the University of Missouri-Columbia and the University of Missouri Extension. The facility houses animal holding pens adjacent to a research farm.

Reaseheath College completed its $3.2 million animal management center in February of 2011. The building provides animal housing, classrooms, conference rooms, and administration for educational programs in animal care and welfare. The sustainably designed building is BREEAM rated. The facility was built by Whitfield and Brown of Widnes.

The University of New South Wales is planning to build the Wallace Wurth Building in Sydney. Accommodating 678 staff and 1300 students, the medical teaching, research, and training facility will house wet and dry labs, classrooms, lecture halls, seminar rooms, and an animal facility.

Lohmann Animal Health completed an $8.8 million, 25,000-sf expansion of its poultry vaccine manufacturing facility in Winslow, Maine, in January of 2011. Construction began on the project in 2008. The completed facility includes a 9,000-sf R&D center with laboratories and offices, a bird testing facility, and a biological production plant. Lohmann Animal Health is based in Cuxhaven, Germany.

The Institute for Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) announced the publication of the final version of the 8th Edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals in January of 2011. The new edition integrates recently published data, scientific principles, and expert opinion to recommend practices for responsible laboratory animal use. The guide can be purchased at the National Academy Press.

Auburn University's College of Veterinary Medicine broke ground on the first phase of a $74 million Small Animal Teaching Hospital complex in December of 2010. A 34,000-sf education wing is slated for completion in spring of 2012. The second phase of construction will deliver a 200,000-sf Small Animal Teaching Hospital in 2014. The project was designed by Foil Wyatt Architects and Jova/Daniels/Busby.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison opened the $205 million Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery in December of 2010. The 300,000-sf facility houses research offices, an atrium, and flexible dry, wet, and combination laboratories. Ground was broken on the interdisciplinary biomedical research building in May of 2008. Built with four stories above ground and one below, the project will support collaborative research in biotechnology, health science, nanotechnology, engineering, and stem cell research.

Duke University opened two new facilities at the Duke Lemur Center in December of 2010. The $10.4 million project was designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent and is located in Durham, N.C. The Releasable Building provides dry lab space and housing for 60 lemurs in a free range environment sited on 69 forested acres. The Semi-Releasable Building includes a wet lab for biological and chemical analysis and houses 80 lemurs with limited outdoor access.

The University of Adelaide opened the 5,500-sm Veterinary Health Centre (VHC) in Roseworthy in November of 2010. The $28 million facility houses the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (VDL), clinical space, teaching labs, and training rooms. The center includes the public access Companion Animal Health Centre integrated with advanced veterinary education facilities.

Montana State University dedicated the $15.7 million Animal Bioscience building in Bozeman in November of 2010. The three-story, 40,000-sf facility provides classrooms and laboratories for instruction and research in anatomy, physiology, genetics, animal nutrition, rangeland ecology, and natural resources. A technology transfer room with interactive video capability allows information to be shared throughout the state. Ground was broken on the project in June of 2008. The facility was built by Swank Enterprises of Valier, Mont.