Research and Development

Walter Reed Army Institute of Research is planning to renovate a 67,000-sf animal research facility in Silver Spring, Md. Constructed in 1972 to provide biomedical laboratories and vivarium space for large and small animals, Building 511 will be extensively upgraded with new electrical, plumbing, HVAC, and building automation systems. New wall, floor, and ceiling finishes will be installed as well as vibration mitigation technologies for specialized research equipment.

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is planning a $75 million mouse production facility in Ellsworth, Maine. The project involves the complete renovation of an existing 143,000-sf building to create advanced vivarium space for the breeding and housing of mice for genetic research. The facility will consolidate all of JAX’s East Coast production operations in a single location, enabling the company’s Bar Harbor campus to provide additional research, education, and conference space.

Purdue University is initiating three construction projects for the College of Engineering in West Lafayette, Ind. Work will begin in 2016 on an $8.2 million expansion of the Maurice J. Zucrow Laboratories to create a 9,600-sf research suite featuring five new test cells supporting laser-based measurement. Other projects include the $54 million, 75,000-sf Flex Lab, a multidisciplinary, team-based research facility, and the Innovation Design Center, a 24-hour student project building featuring CAD labs and collaboration areas.

The University of Nebraska broke ground in late April of 2015 on a $45.5 million veterinary diagnostic laboratory in Lincoln. Located on the Nebraska Innovation Campus, the 65,000-sf facility will provide labs for diagnostic testing, animal science, and medical research. The project architect is RDG Planning and Design of Omaha. Completion is expected in 2017.

Johns Hopkins University will lease 115,000 sf in a new laboratory building under construction in Baltimore. The $59 million, 170,000-sf facility is being built by Forest City Enterprises in partnership with East Baltimore Development Inc. and will feature advanced LED lighting systems installed by GB Energie LED and Revolution Lighting Technologies. Construction began on the project in November of 2014 and completion is expected in July of 2016.

Pharmaceutical products manufacturer Bath ASU is expanding their existing campus in the United Kingdom with the construction of a 21,500-sf production plant in Corsham. Designed by Pegasus, the project will triple available cleanroom space and is being built by John Yerbury Property Developments using Kingspan Micro-Rib insulated metal wall panels. Completion is expected by June of 2015.

Clark College is building a $41 million academic facility to support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) programs in Vancouver, Wash. Designed by LSW Architects, the three-story, 70,000-sf project will provide 26 instructional spaces as well as labs, offices, and study areas for the departments of biology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The building will feature a 44-ft drop tower for student experiments, a three-story lobby, a machine shop, a cadaver lab, and an outdoor classroom.

The University of Washington is building the $123.5 million Animal Research and Care Facility in Seattle. Housing the Department of Comparative Medicine, the 83,000-sf subterranean structure will accommodate rodents, pigs, dogs, and non-human primates. Comprising two floors of approximately 40,000 sf each, the facility will provide labs, procedure rooms, imaging suites, cage and equipment wash, storage, and support. Construction began in early 2015 and occupancy is expected in August of 2017.

Ohio State University celebrated the opening of the $126 million Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building (CBEC) in Columbus in April of 2015. The two-building, 235,000-sf project includes a four-story teaching and research building physically connected to a six-story office and research building. The LEED-certified complex features wet research labs with ancillary support, computational research suites, shared core labs, instructional spaces, and offices for faculty, graduate students, and administration.

Minerals research firm Mintek opened a cleanroom and biocontainment laboratory in April of 2015 in Johannesburg. Supported by $2.4 million in funding from South Africa's Department of Science and Technology, the project includes an ISO 5 cleanroom and a BSL-3 suite to accommodate the development of advanced diagnostic technologies for diseases such as malaria, tuberculosis, and HIV. The facilities feature sophisticated controls for the regulation of temperature, pressure, moisture, and airborne particles.

University College London has awarded Graham Construction a $25 million contract to renovate the existing Courtauld Building to create a biomedical research facility. The project will house the Medical Research Council's Prion Unit and will accommodate the study of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

Concordia College is planning to create an integrated science complex in Moorhead, Minn. Designed by EYP Architecture and Engineering and Foss Architecture, the $45 million project includes the complete renovation of two conjoined facilities totaling 108,000 sf and construction of a three-story, 58,000-sf atrium. The complex will support collaborative, discovery-based learning in mathematics and the sciences with neighborhoods of classrooms, laboratories, and offices interspersed with informal study and social spaces.

The College of Lake County broke ground in March of 2015 on the $28.3 million Science and Engineering Building in Grayslake, Ill. The project includes construction of a three-story, 41,900-sf facility housing four laser and photonics labs, five chemistry labs, and an engineering lab. Additionally, 25,000 sf of existing space will be renovated to create labs for biology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology.

Delaware State University is building the $60 million Optical Science Center for Applied Research (OSCAR) in Dover. Ground was broken on the 53,000-sf facility in October of 2012 and construction began in July of 2013. Designed by Richärd+Bauer, OSCAR will house the University’s optics program and is being built as two structures in separate construction phases.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute is partnering with the New York Power Authority to create the Advanced Grid Innovation Laboratory for Energy (AGILe) in Albany, N.Y. Supporting collaborative energy infrastructure research, the facility will enable the simulation, development, testing, and deployment of advanced electrical grid technologies.