Research and Development

Georgia Tech’s Carbon-Neutral Energy Solutions (C-NES) building sets a new standard for sustainable design for buildings of its type by optimizing passive energy technologies, reducing energy demand, and maximizing the use of renewable energy: A prototype living, learning laboratory that offers lessons for future net-zero attempts. Net-zero energy defies the historical reality that laboratories can consume 10 times the energy of a typical office building, and one six-foot fume hood consumes as much energy annually as a 2,500-sf home.

The University of Massachusetts Medical School is initiating an energy retrofit of the Lazare Medical Research Facility in Worcester. Airside solutions provider Aircuity will install demand control ventilation (DCV) systems on a total of nine floors, including eight floors of laboratory space and a vivarium level, to provide significant cost savings and optimal indoor air quality. The retrofit is expected to reach completion in spring of 2014.

The Hospital for Sick Children opened the $400 million Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning in Toronto in September of 2013. Designed by Diamond Schmitt Architects and built by EllisDon, the 21-story, 750,000-sf tower features advanced laboratories, learning facilities, and interaction spaces to support collaborative biomedical research.

The University of Delaware will officially open the Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering (ISE) Laboratory in Newark in October of 2013. Designed by Ayers/Saint/Gross Architects, the four-story, 194,000-gsf facility provides eight general instruction classrooms and four problem-based instructional areas with adjoining labs to support interactive learning. The research wing features a 10,000-sf nanofabrication facility, a synthesis lab, an advanced materials characterization lab, and an imaging and microscopy suite.

The Air Force Research Laboratory has attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification for the 53,000-sf Advanced Power and Thermal Research Laboratory at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. The $21 million project included a complete renovation of the existing Static Test Laboratory, built in 1934, to provide areas for materials processing, data acquisition, cleanrooms, and fabrication facilities.

The New York Genome Center opened its $54 million facility in Manhattan in September of 2013. Providing collaborative research space for academic and industry partners, the 172,000-sf project features wet labs and suites for bioinformatics, sequencing, and data handling. Created by a consortium of 12 institutions, the center will support advanced genomics research to create innovative therapeutic solutions.

The National University of Ireland, Galway has begun construction on the $27 million Clinical Research Facility and Translational Research Facility (CRF-TRF). The four-story, 57,000-gsf project is located on the grounds of University Hospital Galway to support collaborative research and patient care. The ground and first floors will house the Health Research Board (HRB) Clinical Research Facility which will include an area for the study of regenerative medicine.

The University of Waterloo opened the $15 million Centre for Intelligent Antenna and Radio Systems (CIARS) in Ontario in September of 2013. Providing advanced facilities for the testing of electromagnetic devices, the project comprises four interconnected indoor laboratories, one outdoor lab, and a computational suite. The 5,000-sf project features a unique multi-configuration electromagnetic radiation lab with an anechoic chamber and terahertz measurement capabilities.

The Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative (BRIC) opened its 330,000-sf facility in Waco, Texas, in September of 2013. The project included renovation of an existing manufacturing facility to provide advanced laboratories, workforce training centers, and business incubator space. The BRIC houses several of Baylor University's research institutes, including the the Center for Spatial Research and the Center for Astrophysics, Space Physics, and Engineering Research (CASPER).

Auburn University opened the $28.8 million Mike Hubbard Center for Advanced Science, Innovation and Commerce in September of 2013. Located in the Auburn Research Park, the 84,000-sf facility will support programs in energy, engineering, genomics, ecology, water and food safety, and information science. General contractor Brasfield & Gorrie began building the center in late 2011. The facility provides 20 technology-rich laboratories, a supercomputing suite, seminar rooms, and two large cranes for biofuels research.

The University of Alabama completed construction of the fourth phase of the Science and Engineering Complex in Tuscaloosa in September of 2013. The $58 million, 205,000-sf facility provides 51 research labs, 19 teaching labs, a 7,800-sf cleanroom, faculty and graduate student offices, conference rooms, collaboration space, and support. Accommodating research on materials science and advanced sensors, the building features flexible lab and core areas that can be reconfigured to accommodate new technologies as needed.

Winthrop University Hospital celebrated the topping out of the $65 million Winthrop Research Institute in September of 2013 in Mineola, N.Y. The five-story, 95,000-sf building was designed by Perkins Eastman and is slated for completion in 2015. The translational research and academic facility will provide classrooms, a clinical trials center, a simulation training suite, and core laboratories for the study of diabetes, obesity, cardiopulmonary disease, and neurology.

BASF celebrated the opening of its new plant science facilities in Research Triangle Park, N.C., in September of 2013. The $33 million expansion includes 80,000 sf of office, laboratory, and greenhouse space. The project features a climate-controlled greenhouse, laboratories for plant biotechnology research, and an environmentally-controlled insect production facility. BASF is based in Ludwigshafen, Germany, with the 480,000-sf Research Triangle Park campus serving as the company's U.S. headquarters.

The University of Edinburgh opened the first phase of the National Avian Research Facility in early 2013. The $7.9 million facility is part of a collaborative two-building research campus currently under construction for the Roslin Institute of the Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and The Pirbright Institute. Ground was broken on the project in early 2013. Phase two of the $22 million project is expected to open in late 2014.

The University of Nebraska opened the 23,000-sf Biomechanics Research Building in Omaha in September of 2013. The laboratory will support applied translational research on the mechanics of movement and includes a virtual reality suite. The $6 million building houses advanced robotic and imaging technologies and will accommodate collaboration with NASA to develop solutions for the gravitational challenges faced by returning astronauts.