Research and Development

The University of Massachusetts broke ground on the $52 million Design Building in October of 2015 in Amherst. The 87,200-sf project will house the Department of Architecture as well as accommodating programs in building construction technology, landscape architecture, and regional planning. Designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates of Boston, the four-story facility will provide classrooms, research areas, materials testing labs, studios, offices, conference rooms, lounges, and a café.

Construction began in October of 2015 on the $59 million (NZD$87m) National Biocontainment Laboratory in Upper Hutt, New Zealand. Designed by Merrick & Company to meet international biosafety standards, the secure facility will provide advanced labs for infectious disease detection, diagnosis, and response. The completed project will also offer veterinary diagnostics to support international trade assurances of the status of animal diseases. Full operations will commence in 2019.

Harvard University is planning to build the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences in Allston, Mass. Designed by Behnisch Architekten, the six-story, 586,000-sf building will feature a central atrium rising from the basement level offering sophisticated interaction space for faculty, students, and staff. The facility will provide classrooms, open teaching spaces, conference rooms, as well as areas for exhibits, retail, and dining.

The University of Texas at Dallas broke ground in October of 2015 on the $33 million Brain Performance Institute. Designed by Page Southerland Page, the three-story, 62,000-sf facility will provide clinical areas, brain training rooms, advanced imaging suites, a virtual reality lab, classrooms, and event space. The Brain Performance Institute is affiliated with UT’s Center for BrainHealth and the School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences. Occupancy is expected in spring of 2017.

Althea is expanding its San Diego operations with the construction of a 57,000-sf biological manufacturing facility. Supporting the production of highly potent active pharmaceutical ingredients (HPAPIs) and antibody drug conjugates (ADCs), the project will feature cGMP-compliant suites for bioconjugation, formulation, purification, and aseptic fill and finish. The facility will open in the second quarter of 2016 with full operations commencing in mid-2017.

The University of Kansas is building the $82 million Earth, Energy and Environment Center in Lawrence. Featuring laboratories for isotope analysis, 3D visualization, and computing, the multidisciplinary complex will accommodate programs in geology, nanoscience, physics, chemistry, and chemical and petroleum engineering. The 130,000-sf center will also provide a 30-seat mediated synchronous collaboration lab and conference room, a 150-seat auditorium, and a 10-workstation suite for industry and academic partners.

Montclair State University dedicated the $55 million Center for Environmental and Life Sciences in October of 2015 in Montclair, N.J. Providing seven interdisciplinary research suites and six core labs, the five-story, 107,500-sf facility houses the Sokol Institute for Pharmaceutical Life Sciences, the Passaic River Institute, and the PSE&G Institute for Sustainability Studies. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the center offers classrooms, offices, seminar rooms, a 100-seat lecture hall, and a microscopy suite.

West Virginia University opened the $43 million Advanced Engineering Research Building in October of 2015 on the Evansdale campus in Morgantown. Housing the Benjamin M. Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources, the 63,000-sf facility provides 22,000 sf of interdisciplinary laboratory and research space and an 8,000-sf cleanroom. Classrooms, offices, and a learning center occupy the remaining 29,000 sf. The Advanced Engineering Research Building was designed Stantec and built by Massaro Corporation.

Metropolitan State University broke ground on the $60 million Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building in October of 2015 in Denver. Located on the Auraria campus, the 142,000-sf facility will support programs in industrial design, aviation and aerospace, engineering, computer science, and computer information systems. Featuring laboratories for advanced manufacturing and 3D printing, the building will support collaborative teaching and research with industry partners such as Lockheed Martin.

Adaptimmune is building a 67,000-sf biopharmaceutical R&D center in Abingdon in the United Kingdom. Designed by Nicholas Hare, the facility will provide laboratories, offices, and conference rooms for approximately 200 investigators and staff. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2015 and completion is expected in late 2016. The facility is located on the Milton Park technology campus and is being developed by MEPC.

Defense contractor Riverside Research completed a $7 million expansion of its Dayton campus in October of 2015. The project features the 20,200-sf Open Innovation Center, a collaborative and secure research environment providing multidisciplinary lab space for the study of computational electromagnetics, sensors, optical lasers, and space propulsion and communications. The 30,000-sf facility features a plasma chamber capable of simulating space conditions as well as an EMI-shielded suite.

The University of Glasgow opened the $35 million Sir Michael Stoker Building in October of 2015 on its Garscube campus in Scotland. Housing the Centre for Virus Research (CVR), the facility provides advanced laboratories for the study of human and veterinary virology. The building was created in partnership with the Medical Research Council and includes research offices and interaction areas. The project team included Sheppard Robson Architects, general contractor Laing O’Rourke, and engineering consultant Arup.

The siting of sensitive instruments in a research facility requires awareness of the electromagnetic field (EMF) environment and the various types and locations of emission sources. Some of the most difficult electromagnetic interference (EMI) challenges include DC and geomagnetic sources such as cars, trucks, subways, and trains, as well as facility elevators. The EMI footprint from the movement of an elevator through the earth’s magnetic field can exclude large areas of a facility from housing sensitive tools and instruments.

Axalta Coating Systems is planning to construct the 175,000-sf Global Innovation Center in Philadelphia’s Navy Yard. Designed by Erdy McHenry Architecture, the $70 million R&D facility will replace Axalta’s Wilmington campus and will house 170 relocated employees. The project developer is Liberty Property Trust. Completion is expected in late 2017 with full operations commencing in 2018.

The University of Lincoln has awarded BAM Construction a $25 million contract to construct the Isaac Newton Building in the United Kingdom. Located on the Brayford Pool campus, the four-story, 81,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research space for programs in engineering, computer science, mathematics, and physics. The building will also house a 500-seat lecture hall, an atrium, a semi-anechoic chamber, and a room with the properties of a Faraday cage. Construction will begin in fall of 2015 with completion expected in early 2017.