Siemens Mobility is planning to construct a £100 million innovation center for rail infrastructure in Chippenham. Featuring world-class R&D labs for the discovery of novel travel solutions, the digitally enabled complex will produce the next generation of signaling and control systems for the United Kingdom. Open office areas designed to support hybrid working will be accompanied by sophisticated meeting rooms and collaboration spaces.
Louisiana State University broke ground in March of 2024 on the Our Lady of the Lake Health Interdisciplinary Science Building in Baton Rouge. Designed by EskewDumezRipple, the $148 million facility will offer leading-edge environments for STEM education and discovery. The four-story, 200,000-sf structure will drive innovation in five key focus areas: geology and geophysics, chemistry, biological sciences, astronomy, and mathematics and physics.
The University of Wisconsin-Madison will begin construction in May of 2026 on a $420 million facility for the College of Engineering. Standing seven stories above grade with one basement level, the 395,000-gsf structure will provide 211,000 asf of collaborative teaching and research space. Multidisciplinary labs will open onto flexible meeting and write-up areas, accompanied by dedicated venues for engaging with industry partners. The modular and adaptable building will promote experiential education with active learning classrooms, studios, workshops, and maker spaces.
Oxford Properties is transforming Victoria House in central London into a vibrant destination for biomedical research. Developed in partnership with Pioneer Group, the £70 million project involves the conversion of 220,000 sf of the building's 300,000-sf internal area to provide sophisticated wet labs and write-up areas.
The Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research broke ground in February of 2024 on the AU$55 million Lang AO Medical Research Building - MacArthur. Located next to Campbelltown Hospital, the 63,000-sf project will provide state-of-the-art laboratories for the study of diabetes, pediatrics, addiction, mental illness, and indigenous health, and pediatrics. BVN Architecture’s vision for the translational facility interweaves collaboration spaces and instrumentation suites with flexible, open settings for shared discovery.
Increasing demand for BSL-3 and ABSL-3 lab space in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is driving up interest in renovating existing research facilities to accommodate these high-containment spaces. Even a small BSL-3 lab can be a costly undertaking, with special attention required for security of both personnel and biohazards, location in the building, and waste disposal, as well as the design and commissioning of exhaust system.
The University of Louisville is constructing a $90 million facility to provide the J.B. Speed School of Engineering with dynamic environments for hands-on learning and discovery. Designed by Luckett & Farley and SmithGroup, the 114,000-sf structure will accommodate laboratories, classrooms, a maker space, design studios, and event venues. The four-story development will drive the growth of Kentucky’s technology-enabled economy by offering collaboration venues for shared exploration with industry partners.
Agratas, a subsidiary of Tata Group, will break ground in spring of 2024 on a £4 billion battery factory in the United Kingdom. Located on the Gravity Smart Campus in Bridgwater, the three-building complex will leverage highly efficient processes and technologies to produce advanced battery cells for electric vehicles. The sustainable project involves the adaptive reuse of an existing brownfield site and the creation of sophisticated renewable energy systems.
Beacon Capital Partners and Trammell Crow Company are constructing Hyde Park Labs in Chicago. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, Moody Nolan, and Interactive Design Architects, the $225 million project involves the creation of a 13-story building atop an existing retail podium. The completed 370,000-sf facility will offer 300,000 rsf of Class A lab and office space spread over nine floors.
James Cook University opened the AUD$100 million Engineering and Innovation Place in February of 2024 on the Douglas campus in Townsville. Designed by KIRK Studio in association with i4 Architecture and Charles Wright Architects, the 101,180-sf building accommodates social learning environments, 23 laboratories, a maker space, conference rooms, and a multimodal studio. The modular and flexible structure also includes a soaring atrium and collaboration venues for shared development with industry partners.
Kadans Science Partner is planning to construct a 139,000-sf research facility in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Featuring a modular layout that can accommodate multiple tenants or a single entity, Merlin Place will provide best-in-class lab environments for the creation of new therapies, medical devices, and digital healthcare solutions. A flexible structural grid with adaptable floor heights will support a range of configurations, with vibration-mitigated suites available for sensitive instrumentation.
Regeneron Pharmaceuticals is planning to establish a biomedical research facility in Suffern, N.Y. The company recently invested $39 million to acquire the 235,000-sf Avon Innovation Center. Sited on 10 acres, the three-story structure originally housed chemistry labs and support spaces for the development of cosmetics, fragrances, and skincare products. HLW designed the facility, which was constructed between 2003 and 2005 by Skanska USA Building.
Colorado School of Mines opened the $19.4 million Labriola Innovation Hub in February of 2024 in Golden, Colo. Designed by OZ Architecture, the 37,260-sf building features collaborative project studios and maker spaces where faculty, students, alumni, and industry partners can discover new solutions for critical societal problems. This campus-wide resource for invention supports both physical and computational approaches to ideation, prototyping, and testing.
Incubators are essential to the development of many innovative ventures, but it’s in the stage between venture and company where many going concerns stop going. That’s when they don’t know exactly how much space or how many people they will need, and how fast the operation can grow. If they lock into a spot, they can end up choking on the lack of space or drowning in more space than they need or can ultimately afford. This is especially true of research labs.
Providence Health Care is planning to construct the CAD$638 million Clinical Support and Research Centre in Vancouver. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and Kirsten Reite Architecture, the 370,000-sf facility will collocate world-class research labs with specialty physician practices to accelerate the translation of medical discoveries into solutions for patient care. Collaboration spaces will be intentionally woven throughout the building to promote interdisciplinary exchange between researchers, clinicians, and industry partners.
