Research and Development

The past few decades have brought myriad technological changes to our daily lives, and experts predict the pace of change will only increase—especially in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Much of the talk surrounding AI focuses on automating repetitive processes and analyzing data, which require additional computational power but not necessarily structural modifications. But emerging technologies, including AI and robotics, may require universities and companies to rethink their approach to designing and planning buildings and labs.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed), home to North America’s largest baboon population dedicated to research, has opened a new primate research facility focused on animal welfare, human safety, and operational efficiency as guiding principles. The new Animal Care Complex (ACC) includes three modular breeding and holding facilities, each with a capacity of up to 300 animals of multiple species. The spacious facility has five indoor rooms which range from 400 to 800 sf, and outdoor yards as big as 5,500 sf. 

The U.S. Department of Energy is constructing the Stable Isotope Production and Research Center (SIPRC) on the main campus of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Designed by Gresham Smith, the $325 million facility will address a critical need for stable isotopes in medicine, science, industry, and security. SIPRC will be the nation’s first domestic production facility for enriched stable isotopes since 1998 and will reduce current dependence on diminishing reserves and foreign suppliers. 

Siemens Mobility will begin construction in early 2025 on a £100 million innovation center for rail infrastructure in Chippenham, U.K. Designed by Arup and AHR, the digitally enabled complex will provide world-class R&D labs for the creation of novel transit solutions. Integrated research, testing, and factory environments will accelerate the production of the next generation of signaling and control systems for the United Kingdom.

Healthpeak Properties recently opened a world-class amenities center called The Hangar on the Vantage life science campus in South San Francisco. Flad Architects' vision for the 40,000-sf facility has created a dynamic hub for interaction and relaxation, complete with a full-service rooftop bar, a food hall, a fitness center, and more. A dramatic design inspired by airplane hangars honors the area's industrial past and its role as the birthplace of biotechnology.

The University of Sheffield's Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre finished construction in November of 2024 on an open-access innovation facility for aerospace R&D in the United Kingdom. Expanding the capabilities of the adjacent Factory 2050, the 29,700-sf structure will initially house the Composites at Speed and Scale (COMPASS) initiative. An expansive factory environment will enable academic, government, and industry partners to work side-by-side, complemented by individual workshops and ancillary spaces.

Werfen opened a $50 million research and development facility in December of 2024 in Bedford, Mass. Designed by Maugel DeStefano Architects, the 169,500-sf building provides a dynamic new home for the company's Hemostasis and Acute Care Diagnostics Technology Center. The structure's first two floors offer a total of 27,500 sf of lab space and 91,000 sf of office space, perched over a 51,000-sf parking area for 160 vehicles.

Werfen opened a $50 million research and development facility in December of 2024 in Bedford, Mass. Designed by Maugel DeStefano Architects, the 169,500-sf building provides a dynamic new home for the company's Hemostasis and Acute Care Diagnostics Technology Center. The structure's first two floors offer a total of 27,500 sf of lab space and 91,000 sf of office space, perched over a 51,000-sf parking area for 160 vehicles.

The fast-moving nature of biotechnology innovation means architects and designers for Regeneron have to plan for researchers’ requirements to change by the time new laboratories open on the Tarrytown, N.Y., campus. The campus is undergoing a $1.8 billion expansion, adding 900,000 sf of new laboratory and office space, along with additional parking, amenities, and infrastructure to support research and development.

Leggat McCall Properties and DLJ Real Estate Capital Partners opened a 370,000-rsf life sciences building at Boynton Yards in Somerville in November of 2024. Strategically sited less than a mile from Kendall Square, 808 Windsor was designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge as a catalyst for biomedical and pharmaceutical innovation. JLL Capital Markets arranged $246 million in construction financing for the project with capital partner Deutsche Finance America.

Missouri University of Science and Technology is planning to construct the Bioplex, a $130 million facility for advanced research and education in life sciences, biomedicine, and biomedical engineering. ZGF Architects is partnering with Christner Architects to design the 128,000-gsf structure, which represents the final phase of the Havener Arrival Complex. The multidisciplinary building will provide lab environments for 24 research teams, including wet bench labs and associated support spaces, as well as an ABSL-2 vivarium.

Construction began in November of 2024 on the Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre (ASEC) in Moncton, New Brunswick. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects in association with EXP, the adaptive reuse project will transform the existing Gulf Fisheries Centre into a four-story complex equipped with leading-edge laboratories and technologies.

Case Western Reserve University celebrated the official groundbreaking of the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB) in October of 2024 in Cleveland. Designed by HGA in partnership with local firm DVA Architecture, the 189,000-sf facility will collocate more than 60 principal investigators from the School of Medicine, the School of Engineering, and the College of Arts and Sciences. The $300 million structure will offer both wet and dry labs, a shared core lab, and advanced technology platforms.

The vision of biomedical research as a collective effort is resoundingly clear in the $237.5 million Pelotonia Research Center, the first building to be completed in the 350-plus-acre Carmenton district on the campus of The Ohio State University (Ohio State) in Columbus. Opened in May 2023, the center integrates almost 100,000 sf of wet labs, 25,000 sf of computational labs, and 20,000 sf of core labs in a single facility designed to host interdisciplinary collaborations and public-private initiatives that focus on solving some of the most critical health challenges. With life science as the backbone of the research endeavor, current projects range from modeling cancer progressions to 3D printing of patient-specific anatomic models. 

Rice University’s Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science, which opened in September 2023, is a 250,000-gsf center for advanced materials sciences designed to facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration by bringing together researchers in the fields of chemistry, biomolecular engineering, physics, and nanoengineering who had previously been scattered across 13 different buildings around the campus.