Research and Development

The University of Houston is constructing the $51 million Multidisciplinary Research and Engineering Building. Housing shared core facilities for multiple departments, the four-story, 120,000-gsf project will provide the Cullen College of Engineering with wet research labs, a visualization suite, a high performance computational center, and an NMR spectrometer lab. Ground was broken in October of 2014 and occupancy is slated for fall of 2016.

Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica will invest $110 million over the next four years to expand its operations in Iowa, enabling the company to increase production capacity and optimize manufacturing processes. In Ames, a 52,088-sf animal health research facility will be built in the Iowa State Research Park. On the Fort Dodge campus, a new Veterinary Research Center and a high-speed fill and freeze-drying suite will be constructed and existing infrastructure systems will be upgraded.

The three-story International Vaccine Centre (InterVac) at the University of Saskatchewan is one of the largest vaccine research centers in the world and the largest in North America. It is connected by a walkway to the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) laboratory building in a cluster of life sciences R&D facilities at the University. The facilities operate together as VIDO-InterVac, one of only a few BSL-3 facilities in the world that can accommodate disease and vaccine research involving animals as large as cows.

The College of William & Mary is building the third phase of the Integrated Science Center (ISC) in Williamsburg, Va. Supporting programs in applied science, biology, chemistry, psychology, and computer modeling, the $78 million ISC 3 will feature core labs with advanced instrumentation and a 300-seat lecture hall. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering, the four-story, 113,000-sf project will include construction of a rooftop greenhouse on the adjacent ISC 2. The general contractor is Whiting-Turner.

The University of Maryland is building a new facility for the Clark School of Engineering in College Park. Ground was broken in November of 2014 on the 184,000-sf A. James Clark Hall, a collaborative, multidisciplinary facility created to support the development of advanced biomedical technologies. Designed by Ballinger, the building will provide a new home for the Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the Robert E. Fischell Institute for Biomedical Devices.

The University of Aberystwyth is planning to build the $62.5 million Innovation and Enterprise Campus in Wales in the United Kingdom.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is planning a 100,000-sf expansion and renovation of the Southeast Poultry Research Laboratory (SEPRL) in Athens. The $155 million project will support research on avian influenza and other infectious diseases at the 35-building complex. SEPRL was awarded $45 million in federal funding in December of 2014 to initiate the design and construction process.

Applied Optoelectronics, a producer of fiber-optic networking products, is expanding its headquarters and manufacturing campus in Sugar Land, Texas. The $30 million project includes construction of 111,600 sf of space for R&D, manufacturing, and administration. Completion is expected in late 2015.

SUNY Polytechnic is building the $191 million Zero-Energy Nanotechnology (ZEN) building in Albany, N.Y. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering to support clean energy research, the 360,000-sf facility will provide labs, classrooms, offices, and a large central atrium. The building will also house the new data center for the state of New York and the headquarters of the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium. CommerceHub will occupy 50,000 sf in the building.

The University of Utah will renovate the existing 71,000-sf George Thomas building to create the Gary & Ann Crocker Science Center in Salt Lake City. The existing structure will be seismically upgraded and reconfigured, and a 52,500-sf addition will be built to accommodate laboratories for the Cell and Genome Research Center. The completed four-story, 123,500-sf facility will also provide lecture halls, classrooms, a café, a business incubator, and a full-height atrium. The project team includes EDA Architects and Okland Construction.

The University of Cambridge has awarded Kier Group a $91 million contract to build a new biomedical laboratory in the United Kingdom. The project will provide up to 180,000 sf of research space and will be located on the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Site work will begin in mid-2015 with completion expected in summer of 2017.

The Clinical Cell and Vaccine Production Facility (CVPF) at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania is designed to facilitate a bench-to-bedside approach, where the clinical materials to treat disease are manufactured and administered within the hospital using cells from the patient’s own body. The project has achieved international recognition for its unique potential for optimizing patient care and for its success treating human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and cancer.

Carthage College is engaged in a $43 million expansion and renovation of the David A. Straz, Jr. Center for the Natural and Social Sciences in Kenosha, Wis. A 35,000-sf wing will be constructed and the existing 70,000-sf facility will undergo major renovations. The completed center will feature multidisciplinary teaching labs, TEAL (Technology Enhanced Active Learning) classrooms, a two-story glass atrium, a 28-seat planetarium, and 12 interdisciplinary labs for the study of materials science, nanotechnology, engineering design, molecular biology, and atomic microscopy.

Biotrial is constructing the Clinical Pharmacology Unit in Newark, N.J. Located adjacent to Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in the University Heights Science Park, the 60,000-sf facility will support early development clinical studies in association with University Hospital. The project was designed by Francis Cauffman and is being built by Joseph A. Natoli Construction. Occupancy is expected in mid-2015.

Rajiv Gandhi National Centre for Biotechnology is planning to build a BSL-4 laboratory for avian influenza research in Thiruvananthapuram, India. The $9.7 million facility will be housed in the Microbial Containment Complex and will meet international safety standards. The project will support diagnostic testing for infectious diseases including H5N1, Ebola, Nipah, and Crimean Congo virus.