Biomedical

The Boston Society of Architects announced the winners of its 2017 design award in January of 2018.

Georgia State University is planning to construct a $35 million biocontainment research facility in Atlanta. Located on the Downtown campus, the 55,000-sf building will provide BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories for the study of infectious diseases and select agents. The project, which will be the first academic BSL-4 facility in the Southeast, will include open research labs, offices, and support space. 

The Knight Cancer Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) is designed for the researchers of the future: up-and-coming scientists who prefer a streamlined, team approach to research, rather than being trapped by organizational limitations; a collaborative, not leader-driven, environment; and technology-enabled methods and workspaces. The intention is to foster multidisciplinary interaction in flexible spaces, as they pursue innovative solutions for cancer research.

The Francis Crick Institute (informally known as “the Crick”) is one of the world’s largest dedicated biomedical research centers. Its formal agenda is “to discover the basic biology underlying human health, improving the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of disease, and generating economic opportunities for the UK.” Achieving this agenda has required some unusual architectural strategies, centered on the notion of “discovery without boundaries”—boundaries between scientific disciplines, institutions, laboratories, and individual researchers—which lies at the heart of the Crick’s culture.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology began operations in its BSL-4 laboratories in January of 2018. Supporting research on infectious diseases and select agents, the biocontainment facility will enable scientists to develop innovative strategies for the detection and mitigation of pathogenic threats. Construction began on the facility in 2011 with trial operations beginning in 2015.

Chicago’s newly opened Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the world’s first translational research hospital where scientists, engineers, technologists, and clinicians work collaboratively with thousands of patients going through intensive post-traumatic and disease-related functional rehabilitation. This unique integrated model dramatically shortens the amount of time between research innovations and practical clinical applications.

The University at Buffalo opened the $375 million Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences in December of 2017 on the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus. Designed by HOK, the collaborative 628,000-sf complex offers active learning environments, a surgical robotics center, simulation training suites, a gross anatomy lab, administrative and departmental offices, and 150,000 sf of flexible, multidisciplinary laboratories.

The University of Manchester began construction in December of 2017 on the £235 million Henry Royce Institute for Materials Science and Innovation in the United Kingdom. Designed by NBBJ, the nine-story, 172,000-sf facility will provide sophisticated laboratories and instrumentation suites to promote collaborative research and development with industry partners.

Bucknell University will begin construction in spring of 2018 on the $38 million Academic East facility in Lewisburg, Pa. Designed by Stantec, the 78,000-sf project will provide four classrooms and 30 offices that will be shared by the College of Engineering and the Department of Education. The facility will also house over 25 engineering labs to accommodate collaborative research on materials science, fluid mechanics, food science, and sustainable transportation to enable the development of technologies for the optimization of human health.

Carilion Clinic is partnering with Virginia Tech on the construction of a $90 million research and teaching facility in Roanoke. Designed by AECOM, the 139,000-sf Virginia Tech Carilion Biomedical Research Expansion will provide collaborative, technology-rich laboratories and experiential learning areas.

The University of South Australia is constructing the AUD$247 million Health Innovation Building in Adelaide. Located in the Biomed City development, the 310,000-gsf facility will house the Centre for Cancer Biology, the Museum of Discovery, the Innovation and Collaboration Centre, health teaching clinics, a vivarium, and an atrium. Construction began on the 14-story project in 2015 and occupancy is expected in mid-2018.

Washington State University is designing two new research facilities that will be constructed on the Pullman campus. The $40 million Global Animal Health Facility Phase 2 will support the detection and diagnosis of zoonotic diseases and infectious agents such as avian influenza, BSE, foot and mouth disease, West Nile virus, and pandemic flu. The project will also house teaching labs for veterinary medicine.

Saint Vincent College dedicated the $5.8 million James F. Will Engineering and Biomedical Sciences Hall in November of 2017. Designed by MacLachlan, Cornelius & Filoni, the two-story, 11,260-sf facility features the Liberatore Human Anatomy Teaching Laboratory, a technology-rich facility that can accommodate up to six surgical stations in a simulated operating room environment.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center dedicated the $50 million Translational Research Center in November of 2017 in Jackson, Miss. Designed by Flad Architects, the collaborative 124,852-sf building houses the Neuro Institute, the Technology Transfer Office, and the MIND Center, a neurocognitive dementia research facility. Providing both wet and dry laboratories, the center houses business incubator space, conference rooms, faculty and administrative offices, and space for clinical trials.

The University of California, Riverside is constructing the $150 million Multidisciplinary Research Building 1 (MRB1). Designed by SmithGroupJJR, the five-story, 179,000-sf facility will provide collaborative wet, dry, and computational laboratories to accommodate up to 56 researchers and their teams. The project will include offices, conference rooms, BSL-2 labs, core research space, and a barrier vivarium with animal holding areas, procedure rooms, and support.