Research and Development

Michigan State University broke ground in spring of 2014 on the $730 million Facility for Rare Isotope Beams. Located in East Lansing, the project will be a national user facility for nuclear science research and is created in partnership with the Department of Energy. The first $165 million phase of construction includes a 227,000-sf building with extensive underground infrastructure to accommodate a superconducting linear accelerator. Completion is expected in 2018.

TNO Triskelion opened a BSL-3 vaccine testing laboratory in March of 2014 in Zeist. The facility will enable the contract research organization to develop drugs to combat viruses including avian influenza, SARS, and tuberculosis. The biocontainment lab conforms to GLP (Good Laboratory Practice) standards and is able to test treatments against all subtypes of influenza, whether avian or human.

The Public Health Agency of Canada opened the 60,000-sf JC Wilt Infectious Diseases Centre in February of 2014 in Winnipeg. Designed by Smith Carter, the facility provides advanced laboratories for infectious diseases research, diagnostic testing, and early stage vaccine development. Housing up to 200 employees, the Centre includes a training area for biocontainment laboratory operations. The facility will also support research on HIV/AIDS and antimicrobial resistant organisms.

The J. Craig Venter Institute completed construction in February of 2014 on its new $35 million genomic research facility in La Jolla, Calif. Designed by ZGF Architects to accommodate 125 scientists and staff, the 45,000-sf building includes a single-story, 12,605-sf lab wing and a three-story, 28,600-sf office wing.

The University of Michigan is planning to build the $261 million Biological Science Building in Ann Arbor. Designed by SmithGroup JJR, the 300,000-sf facility will provide research labs, classrooms, offices, and a vivarium for the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. Providing open, flexible laboratories for collaborative research, the building will be constructed adjacent to the existing Life Sciences Institute to which it will physically connect.

Nova Southeastern University broke ground in February of 2014 on the 215,000-sf Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) in Davie, Fla. The $80 million multidisciplinary facility will house wet labs, an IBM supercomputer research suite, the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, the Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research, and the Emil Buehler Research Center for Engineering, Science, and Mathematics. The building will also accommodate the General Clinical Research Center, the NSU Technology Incubator, and space for the United States Geological Survey.

The University of Connecticut began construction in June of 2015 on the 119,000-sf Innovation Partnership Building in Storrs. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the $170 million project will provide flexible laboratories to support collaborative R&D with industry partners in advanced manufacturing, materials science, cyber infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

Hewlett Packard broke ground on an 89,000-sf R&D facility in Ballybrit in the Republic of Ireland in February of 2014. Designed by Taylor Architects, the building will house 700 employees engaged in software research and the development of cloud computing technologies. The project team includes general contractor M.J. Conroy Group, engineering consultants Arup and RPS, and project manager AECOM. Completion is expected in February of 2015.

The Department of Energy will begin construction in April of 2014 on a $10 million research facility at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash. The project will be designed and built by DGR Grant Construction in collaboration with Meier Architecture & Engineering. The 22,000-sf facility will provide labs, computational space, and offices to support research on power grid dynamics and renewable energy technologies, as well as housing PNNL's Building Operations Control Center and sustainability program.

The University of Tennessee has begun renovating Sophronia Strong Hall to create an advanced science laboratory facility. The completed nine-story, 268,000-sf building will house the departments of anthropology and earth and planetary sciences, as well as providing instructional space and open, flexible labs for the departments of biology and chemistry. The $114 million project is expected to reach completion in early 2016. LEED Silver sustainable design will be sought for the renovated facility.

Maersk Oil opened its digital core laboratory in January of 2014 in Doha, Qatar. Supporting research in enhanced oil recovery (EOR), the facility features a computed tomography (CT) scanning suite to provide three-dimensional imagery of the pores of oil-bearing rocks. The petrophysical data revealed by the scans can be used to optimize oil flow. The laboratory is part of a $100 million, ten-year investment by Maersk in applied research and was created in partnership with Qatar Petroleum.

The University of Alaska Anchorage is building the $123 million Engineering & Industry Building. Providing classrooms and laboratories for the College of Engineering, the facility will support instruction in eleven disciplines including mechanical, electrical, civil, arctic, and computer systems engineering. The 80,000-sf building will feature computer-aided-design (CAD) labs and a prototyping lab with 3D printers.

The National Institutes of Health opened a BSL-3 laboratory in Islamabad, Pakistan, in January of 2014. The facility will enable the rapid detection of biological agents and pathogens that pose a threat to public health. The lab will also accommodate research in virology and molecular biology in partnership with academic and industry partners.

All Children's Hospital is partnering with the University of South Florida to create a 300,000-sf pediatric research facility in St. Petersburg. Housing 40 investigators, the project will support medical education, training, and joint research in areas including neuroscience, behavioral health, and early childhood diseases. The estimated construction cost of the facility is $75 million.

The five-story Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI) serves as an interdisciplinary center of research on alternative energy, and as a living example of sustainable design.