Biomedical

The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) recently completed the construction and fit-out of their new Life Science Laboratories after receiving a $95 million grant from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center (MLSC)—a quasi-state agency dedicated to growing the state’s life sciences industry. The new interdisciplinary research wing features state-of-the-art equipment and core resources that will be shared across multiple research teams and industry partnerships. While the new core labs were built into a pre-existing shell with an open floorplate and operational MEP, the final design was driven by the cost-intensive equipment list. Since the agency grant designated a specific amount of funding for the equipment, the type of equipment was known but exact model and vendor was not known before many of the other design and programming decisions were made. 

Wentworth Institute of Technology is building the $55 million Multipurpose Academic Building on its Boston campus. Designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates Architects, the 75,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, labs, lecture halls, meeting rooms, and collaborative teaching and learning spaces. The four-story building will accommodate programs in biomedical, biological, and civil engineering, as well as housing the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center. The construction manager for the project is Gilbane Building Company.

The University of Arizona is constructing the $107.5 million Bioscience Research Laboratories (BSRL) building in Tucson. Supporting collaborative translational research on the molecular basis of human health, aging, and disease, the four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide wet labs, imaging suites, a genomics core, and space for informatics.

NASA opened the 118,000-sf Human Health and Performance Laboratory in late July of 2017 at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. Designed by HDR to consolidate and replace several existing facilities, the biomedical research building provides 250 open workstations, 44 offices, 17 labs, and a variety of meeting and conference rooms. The flexible three-story project was designed to be easily reconfigurable to accommodate programmatic changes.

The University of Edinburgh is planning to construct the Centre for Tissue Regeneration and Repair in Scotland in the United Kingdom. Designed by Stantec, the four-story interdisciplinary building will provide sophisticated research facilities for the study of stem cells, inflammatory mediators, and niche biology. Accommodating up to 500 researchers, the center will feature a collaborative double-height laboratory zone and space for the development of advanced imaging technologies.

BioLegend broke ground in August of 2017 on a $100 million expansion of its Sorrento Mesa campus in San Diego. Designed by Delawie to optimize workflow adjacencies, the project includes renovation of an existing 44,000-sf facility and construction of a four-story, 90,000-sf lab and office building and adjacent parking structure. Featuring flexible open labs to enhance collaboration, the new facility will include an atrium and a 500-person multipurpose room that opens onto a green roof. The central plant will also be expanded.

The Institute of Cancer Research is planning to build a £70 million facility in Sutton, one of the southernmost boroughs of London. Accommodating multidisciplinary drug discovery research, the 75,000-sf project will house 275 investigators, including cancer biologists, evolutionary scientists, medicinal chemists, pharmacologists, data scientists, and clinicians. Occupancy is expected in mid-2020. 

Auburn University opened the $16.6 million Pharmaceutical Research Building in June of 2017 in Auburn, Ala. Providing laboratories and offices for the Harrison School of Pharmacy, the 37,000-sf facility features collaborative open research spaces that are shared by multiple faculty members. A vivarium is located on the first floor of the building, and the second floor houses the Specialized Pharmaceutical and Experimental Center for Translational Research and Analysis (SPECTRA). The duration of construction was 16 months. 

Mayo Clinic is planning to locate three research centers in a four-story facility on the Destination Medical Center campus in Rochester, Minn. Designed by HOK and RSP Architects, the project will be built, owned, and operated by M.A. Mortenson. The Mayo Clinic will be the anchor tenant in the 89,000-sf building, which will accommodate the Center for Individualized Medicine, the Center for Regenerative Medicine, and the Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery.

Bayer HealthCare opened a $100 million pharmaceutical testing laboratory in July of 2017 in Berkeley, Calif. Featuring a sophisticated HVAC system with robust filtration controls, the three-story facility will support research, development, and quality control operations for the production of Bayer’s hemophilia A treatments. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project.

Merrick & Company will support the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate in the development of operational planning, IT infrastructure, biorepository transfer, and acquisition of future contracts for stand-up and operation of the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) now under construction in Manhattan, Kansas.

Eli Lilly completed a $90 million expansion of its San Diego biotechnology center in June of 2017. The 180,000-sf facility features the Life Science studio, a technology-rich laboratory suite supporting advanced drug discovery and development. Promoting global collaboration and innovation in the design, synthesis, and screening of molecules, the center will accommodate research in immunology, diabetes, oncology, and neurodegeneration. 

Pfizer broke ground in June of 2017 on a $200 million research and development facility in Chesterfield, Mo. Housing the BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences group, the 295,000-sf project will enable the advancement of Pfizer’s biologics, vaccines, and gene therapy portfolio. Designed by Forum and EwingCole, the facility will feature flexible laboratories, open offices, and collaboration spaces with advanced conferencing technologies.

The Huntsman Cancer Institute opened the $173 million Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center in June of 2017 in Salt Lake City. Providing advanced genetic sequencing technologies, the six-story, 242,000-sf facility houses biomedical laboratories, space for clinical trials, administrative offices, and a vivarium. The center was designed by Architectural Nexus with Jacobsen Construction as general contractor. The Huntsman Cancer Institute is part of the University of Utah. 

The United States Department of Agriculture’s annual summary report on animal welfare has revealed that the number of animals used in biomedical research rose by seven percent in 2016, from 767,622 in 2015 to 820,812. However, the number of animals held but not used in research decreased by 69 percent from 445,972 in 2015 to 137,444.