Research and Development

The University of Rhode Island opened the $68 million Richard E. Beaupre Center for Chemical and Forensic Sciences in September of 2016. The four-story, 134,623-sf building provides 14 teaching labs, 18 faculty research labs, a 240-seat lecture hall, classrooms, offices, and the Teknor Apex Instrumentation Lab. The facility also houses the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Center of Excellence for Explosives Detection, Mitigation and Response.

James Cook University is planning to build the Australian Institute of Tropical Health and Medicine (AITHM) on the Cairns campus in Smithfield, Queensland. Designed by Jackson Architecture and Fisher & Buttrose Architects, the AUD$24.5 million facility will include a Physical Containment Level 2 (PC2) laboratory to accommodate research on virology, viral diseases, and vector control. The project will be constructed by Hutchinson Builders and completion is expected in late 2017.

Johnson & Wales University opened the $42 million John J. Bowen Center for Science and Innovation in September of 2016 in Providence, R.I. Featuring an innovation lab and a technology and design hub, the three-story, 71,000-sf facility provides classrooms, faculty offices, collaboration spaces, and teaching and research labs for biology, physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, and microbiology. Ground was broken in April of 2015 on the project, which was designed by Edward Rowse Architects and Architectural Resources Cambridge.

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) officially broke ground in August of 2016 on a $75 million mouse production facility in Ellsworth, Maine. The project involves the renovation and expansion of an existing 143,000-sf building to create an advanced 208,000-sf vivarium for the breeding and housing of genetic research mice. The facility will utilize robotic cage management technologies, eliminating the need for employees wearing personal protective equipment to work within containment areas. Window glove boxes will enable researchers to access the specimens.

The University of Saskatchewan will begin construction in fall of 2016 on the CAD$63 million Collaborative Science Research Building in Saskatoon. The facility will accommodate research on water security and plant science, enabling the development of advanced biofuels, water purification systems, drought-resistant crops, and sustainable pest-control mechanisms. Completion is expected in spring of 2018.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center celebrated the opening of the $35 million Center for Drug Discovery and Lozier Center for Pharmacy Sciences and Education in August of 2016 in Omaha. Designed by The Clark Enersen Partners and RDG, the three-story, 85,000-sf teaching and research facility provides advanced drug discovery labs, a sterile compounding suite, classrooms, faculty offices, auditoriums, simulation training suites, and a model pharmacy. Ground was broken on the project in June of 2013.

Brown University is constructing an $88 million facility for the School of Engineering in Providence, R.I. Designed by Kieran Timberlake, the three-story, 80,000-sf project will support collaborative research in neuroscience, biomedical engineering, and clean energy technologies. The sustainably designed facility will feature open-plan laboratories, cleanrooms for bioscience and nanotechnology, an imaging suite, collaboration spaces, and an advanced multidisciplinary undergraduate teaching lab.

Reckitt Benckiser (RB) is planning to build the £105 million R&D Centre for Scientific Excellence in Hull in the United Kingdom. Designed and built by M+W Group, the 140,000-sf innovation hub will feature GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) laboratories for the research and development of consumer health and hygiene products, and will include analytical, formulation, and microbiology suites as well as a stability testing unit.

DYNALABS completed a 15,500-sf expansion of its pharmaceutical testing facility in St. Louis in July of 2016. The $1.5 million project added wet and dry labs, offices, conference rooms, a glass wash, sample management and inspection areas, and storage and distribution space. Designed and constructed by The Artisan Building Co., the facility was delivered for less than half of the original cost estimates from other contractors, enabling DYNALABS to invest in further capital improvements such as the planned renovation of an existing cleanroom.

Lafayette College will break ground in spring of 2017 on the $75 million Integrated Science Center in Easton, Pa. Housing the departments of biology, computer science, and environmental studies, the five-story, 102,000-sf facility will feature an entrepreneurship incubator as well as accommodating programs in engineering and neuroscience. The design architect for the project is Payette. Upon completion in fall of 2019, the existing Kunkel Hall will be renovated to accommodate STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

NASA will construct the Measurement Systems Laboratory at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Supporting the creation of advanced instrumentation and systems engineering solutions, the 175,000-gsf facility will consolidate laser and electromagnetics labs that are currently dispersed across the campus into a central core facility. The $95.6 million construction contract has been awarded to WM Jordan, working in collaboration with construction manager Hill International. Completion is expected in late 2019.

Williams College will begin construction by fall of 2016 on a $204 million renovation of the Unified Science Center in Williamstown, Mass. Featuring flexible laboratories for interdisciplinary teaching and research, the project includes construction of two new structures totaling 177,000 sf. The first 77,000-sf building will house research labs for biology, chemistry, and physics and is slated for completion in May of 2017.

Health Services Laboratories (HSL) is renovating an existing structure known as the Halo building to create its pathology laboratory headquarters in London. Comprising five subterranean levels and ten stories above grade, the 133,000-sf facility will provide a CL3 biocontainment laboratory, specialized research suites, and the largest automated blood sciences lab in the United Kingdom. The contractor for the £21 million fit-out project is ISG.

New York Medical College (NYMC), a large private health sciences university in the Hudson Valley, has gut-renovated a portion of the first floor of a former 1970s cancer research center to create a new clinical skills training center, and new biotechnology incubator space near the core campus.

The 23,200-gsf clinical skills training center is a state-of-the-art facility that provides a controlled environment for teaching, observation, and assessment of healthcare-related skills required for the training of medical and other health professions students. 

The Pennsylvania State University is planning a $44.5 million renovation and expansion of the Agricultural Engineering Building in University Park. Providing multidisciplinary laboratories and classrooms, the project will add 35,000 sf to the existing 64,533-sf (44,581-asf) structure. The building houses the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, a department jointly administered by the College of Agricultural Sciences and the College of Engineering.