Biomedical

Specialized biomedical core facilities accelerate scientific research and make the most of funding resources, but it takes considerable expertise in both technology and business to attain these results. To ensure the centralized model provides the most productive and cost-effective support to researchers, University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto has assembled a toolkit of proven strategies and operating principles. The foremost requirements are a robust knowledge base in science and technology and a strong business orientation. 

Biopharmaceutical firm Baxalta is developing a 200,000-sf research and development center in Cambridge, Mass. Located at Kendall Square, the leased facility will support the commercialization of preclinical discoveries made in partnership with academic institutions and independent biotech firms. The project is expected to house approximately 500 employees upon completion in late 2015. Baxalta is a subsidiary of Baxter International, based in Deerfield, Ill.

Lancer Sales USA introduced a new line of laboratory steam sterilizers in August of 2015. Developed for the high performance sterilization of labware, processed materials, and research byproducts, the sterilizers can be installed in newly constructed laboratories or in existing facilities. The units are available in single and double door pass-through configurations with four cabinet sizes, and all models stand 74” high with vanishing vertical doors that eliminate the need for elevation clearance.

Texas A&M University opened an 11,000-sf avian health complex for the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences in August of 2015. Located in College Station, the climate-controlled aviary facility provides a BSL-2 biocontainment lab, a bird hospital, quarantine suites, three isolation rooms, classrooms, and offices.

The U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) is constructing a 950,000-sf replacement facility at Fort Detrick, Md. The $800 million project will provide BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 laboratory space to support advanced biomedical research. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers began construction on the project in August of 2009 and completion is expected in 2017.

SUNY Upstate Medical Center began construction in June of 2015 on the second phase of the Central New York Biotech Accelerator (CNYBAC) in Syracuse, N.Y. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the project includes the build out of the second and third floors of the facility to house the Upstate Medical Innovation and Novel Discovery Center (MIND) and the Molecular Pathology Next Generation Sequencing Lab.

In an era of shrinking research funding and growing reliance on complex technologies, a centralized core model resolves a host of issues faced by sizable institutions like University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada’s largest research hospital.

The University of Maryland is building a state-of-the-art engineering teaching and research building for the era of convergence science. It is designed to facilitate the practical integration of bioscience, medicine, and engineering to develop new biomedical devices and other health-related advancements. When it opens in 2017, the six-floor, 184,000-sf A. James Clark Hall will serve as a national center for innovation that combines engineering with biology, medicine, and information technology in support of private and government partnerships.

Frontage Labs opened a 36,000-sf clinical research center in Secaucus in July of 2015. Designed by DMR Architects, the facility provides a biomedical laboratory, 160 observation beds, exam rooms, administrative offices, dining facilities, a recreation center, and a pharmacy. The project was developed by retrofitting an existing building to meet the specifications of Frontage Labs, an early-stage drug development company based in Exton, Pa.

llumina is partnering with BioMed Realty Trust to develop a 155,000-sf research center in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Supporting the creation of advanced biopharmaceutical and bioinformatics technologies, the leased facility is designed for ease of expansion, enabling the project to grow by 70,000 sf to provide a total of 225,000 sf of collaborative lab and office space. Illumina is headquartered in San Diego.

Bristol-Myers Squibb will begin construction in July of 2015 on a new research and development facility in Cambridge, Mass. Providing collaborative laboratories and offices for the creation of advanced biomedical and pharmaceutical products, the sustainably designed project comprises 208,000 sf of leased space in the Alexandria Center at Kendall Square development. Completion is expected in late 2017.

Funded by a grant from National Institutes of Health, The Ohio State University renovated Goss Laboratory to create an open lab concept in a 1961 building, where the researchers’ labs previously were isolated from each other. The intent was to promote visibility and teamwork in the field of veterinary infectious disease research. The new design features flexible lab bays lit with natural light, four BSL-2 tissue culture labs, a BSL-2 dedicated rodent phenotyping and infectious necropsy laboratory, equipment rooms, and an open office workspace for graduate student collaboration.

Michigan State University broke ground in June of 2015 on an $88.1 million biomedical research facility in the Grand Rapids Innovation Park. The six-story, 162,800-sf project will provide the College of Human Medicine with open labs to support up to 44 research teams. Designed by SmithGroupJJR with Ellenzweig as laboratory design consultant, the facility will feature core labs for flow cytometry, bioinformatics, microscopy, and long-term storage.

A new 650,000-sf, $295 million complex in Portland, Oregon, consists of the 12-story Skourtes Tower and five-story Collaborative Life Sciences Building (CLSB), which are connected by an atrium nicknamed the “mixing bowl” because it brings everyone together in a central location. The complex supports an interprofessional, multi-institutional program for medicine, nursing, allied health, dentistry, and undergraduate sciences, as well as pure research.

The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute will open a $42 million genome sequencing facility in August of 2015 in Hinxton in the United Kingdom. The three-story, 51,667-sf project is located near Cambridge on the Institute's biomedical research campus. The sequencing facility is an integral part of the master plan for the site, which will include a 38,750-sf bio-data innovation center. The Sanger Institute is operated by Genome Research Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Wellcome Trust.