Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in Maine completed a three-phase construction project that for the first time consolidates its entire marine research operation into one facility, replacing a collection of buildings, some of which had neither heat nor air conditioning. The new Ocean Science and Education Campus, on 54 acres where the Damariscotta River empties into the Gulf of Maine, includes a shore facility for research vessels.
The University of Connecticut began construction in June of 2015 on the 119,000-sf Innovation Partnership Building in Storrs. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the $170 million project will provide flexible laboratories to support collaborative R&D with industry partners in advanced manufacturing, materials science, cyber infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.
The University of Cambridge is planning to build a new chemical engineering and biotechnology building in the United Kingdom. The $67 million facility will provide teaching and research space for the recently merged Department of Chemical Engineering and the Institute of Biotechnology. The project team includes architect BDP, general contractor Morgan Sindall, and mechanical and electrical contractor Shepherd Engineering Services. Completion is expected in June of 2015.
Auburn University dedicated the renovated Biological Engineering Research Laboratory (BERL) in November of 2013 in Auburn, Ala. The $6 million project provides AU's Department of Agriculture with new environmental rooms and technology-rich research labs for for chemical analysis, biomaterials characterization, and food engineering. Supported by funding from the National Science Foundation and the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, the renovation included the installation of upgraded infrastructure and building systems in the 22,800-sf facility.
Biogen Idec is exchanging the tired academic layout of a 20-year-old lab facility for an open and modular configuration that combines innovative “I” and “we” spaces to stimulate not only efficient space utilization, but also competitiveness and an alignment with the company’s scientific goals in a dynamic industry that requires the utmost flexibility in its researchers and their lab spaces.
Monsanto broke ground in November of 2013 on a 400,000-sf expansion of its 210-acre campus in Chesterfield, Mo. The project includes the construction of a $140 million technology and research building, a $70 million conference center, and a $30 million parking garage topped by a $60 million greenhouse. Accommodating 675 investigators and staff, the expansion will provide 250 labs and plant growth chambers as well as 36 greenhouses for collaborative research in breeding, biotechnology, and agronomics.
Nova Southeastern University will begin construction in January of 2014 on the $80 million Center for Collaborative Research in Davie, Fla. The 220,000-sf facility will provide a genomics research center, wet laboratories, and business incubator space for biotech companies.
BASF celebrated the opening of its new plant science facilities in Research Triangle Park, N.C., in September of 2013. The $33 million expansion includes 80,000 sf of office, laboratory, and greenhouse space. The project features a climate-controlled greenhouse, laboratories for plant biotechnology research, and an environmentally-controlled insect production facility. BASF is based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the 480,000-sf Research Triangle Park campus serving as the company's U.S. headquarters.
Non-residential construction volumes and pricing continued their upward trend in the second quarter, with prices increasing an average of 2 to 4 percent in the first half of 2013. These factors, along with growing market confidence and a narrowing labor supply, will continue to push new construction costs closer to the trend line for the near to medium term.
Continued signs of stable economic growth indicate that the recovery is gaining momentum in many parts of the United States and Canada. Construction selling prices for institutional projects grew at a 6 percent annualized rate in 2012, on top of a 3 percent increase in 2011. Construction costs are expected to continue stabilizing and rising in many regions as market confidence and capital spending increase.
The Helix Center Biotech Incubator lab provides 33,000 sf of wet and dry lab space and offices for bioscience research entrepreneurs and biotech innovators. The incubator is geared toward fast-growing companies and entrepreneurs in the early stages of research in the plant and life sciences and in the commercialization of new technologies.
The Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research is a pioneering research facility that brings together biologists working to understand the disease at a molecular level and engineering faculty devoted to solving problems related to cancer. The ultimate goal is to accelerate the discovery of cures for cancer.
Recent high-profile natural disasters and human-based incidents are driving vivarium facility owners to reevaluate their disaster and contingency plans. Traditional approaches to risk assessment and research preservation are often over-simplified, understaffed, and insufficiently funded. A new shift in thinking focuses on preparing for the net results of losing utilities, an entire building, or access to a section of campus rather than the initial causes.
Amgen is initiating a $200 million expansion of its campus in Dun Laoghaire, Ireland. The project includes construction of a 126,000-sf building extension, a new production plant, an expanded warehouse, and extensive refurbishment of the existing buildings. In addition, a significant research and development investment will also see the Dun Laoghaire facility undergo a major technology process enhancement to transform the plant into one of the leading biotechnology manufacturing sites in the world.
Biomeasure, a subsidiary of French pharmaceutical company Ipsen, is initiating a $45 million expansion and renovation of its campus in Milford, Mass. Ground will be broken in mid-2012 on a three-story, 62,000-sf facility housing R&D and process science labs. Two existing buildings at the site, a research facility and a cGMP manufacturing plant totaling 77,000 sf, will be extensively renovated. Completion is expected in early 2014.
