The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill dedicated the $245 million Marsico Hall in March of 2014. The nine-story, 340,000-sf biomedical imaging facility will support basic and translational research in oncology, nanomedicine, microbiology, immunology, and pharmaceutical engineering. Marisco Hall houses a hybrid MRI/PET whole body scanner, a 7 Tesla MRI whole body scanner, and a cyclotron.
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia is planning to build a new research facility in the Schuylkill district. Designed by Pelli Clarke Pelli and Cooper Robertson & Partners, the first phase of the project will include a tower up to 24 stories high providing dry labs, offices, and clinical research space. The facility will include a parking garage and a pedestrian bridge.
North Central College is designing a $60 million facility to replace the 34-year-old Kroehler Science Center. Located in Naperville, Ill., the 120,000-sf, 44-story interdisciplinary building will provide teaching labs, classrooms, and collaborative research space for STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) programs. The project architect is Holabird & Root of Chicago and the laboratory programming and design consultant is Research Facilities Design (RFD). Occupancy is expected in fall of 2017.
The University of California, San Diego dedicated the $113 million Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility in March of 2014 in La Jolla, Calif. Designed by ZGF Architects, the 196,000-sf building provides wet bench laboratories, open lab space, lab support, offices, conference rooms, and an interaction atrium. A basement level accommodates core labs and mechanical systems.
Weber State University will begin construction in June of 2014 on the 175,000-sf Tracy Hall Science Center in Ogden, Utah. Supported by $57.4 million in state funding and a $5 million philanthropic contribution, the facility will house all eight departments of the College of Science in a single location. The project design principles spell out the word ‘science’: sustainability, connectedness, inviting, engaging, nature, comfortable, and exploration.
Hamad Medical Corporation opened the Interim Translational Research Institute (iTRI) in March of 2014 in Doha, Qatar. Located in Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City, the facility will support advanced biomedical research in genomics, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, respiratory medicine, and neurosciences. The iTRI includes wet laboratories, a clinical studies unit, a conference center, and core labs for sample analysis and other services.
Dow Chemical is building the Texas Innovation Center in Lake Jackson. The five-building, 900,000-sf campus will include an administration and office building, two R&D facilities, an employee amenities building, and a visitor center. Construction began on the project in December of 2013 with completion expected in 2016. Project team members include Core Real Estate LLC, D. E. Harvey Builders, Powers Brown Architecture, and Kirksey Architecture.
The University of Birmingham broke ground in March of 2014 on the $100 million High Temperature Research Centre in Coventry in the United Kingdom. Created in partnership with Rolls-Royce, the 62,431-sf advanced manufacturing research facility will provide laboratories for the casting, design, and simulation of aerospace engine components such as turbines. The center will also support collaborative education and research with other academic and industry partners.
Washington State University broke ground in March of 2014 on the $52.8 million PACCAR Clean Technology Laboratory Building in Pullman. Supporting research on advanced materials, renewable energy, atmospheric science, and hydrology, the 96,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide specialized core labs, common support areas, offices, faculty and student research space, and conference areas. The project team includes LMN Architects, general contractor Skanska, and laboratory design consultant Research Facilities Design.
The Wisconsin Energy Institute (WEI), at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, brings together researchers from multiple disciplines to collaborate on solving the world’s energy needs. Occupied in January 2013, the five-story, 102,000-gsf building is designed to flex and adapt to evolving directions in clean-energy research.
The Phase II renovation of Michigan Memorial Phoenix Laboratory (MMPL)—located in a three-story, Cold-War-era facility—contains more than 3,000 sf of chemistry wet lab space, plus a 10,161-sf addition housing the University of Michigan Energy Institute (UMEI, formerly called the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute). The UMEI, previously housed in temporary administrative offices, develops, coordinates, and promotes multidisciplinary energy research and education at the University.
Newcastle University is planning to build the $83 million Science Central development in Newcastle in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hawkins\Brown in partnership with BuroHappold and BD Landscapes, the 107,640-sf facility will act as a living laboratory for urban sustainable design. Occupancy is expected in September of 2017.
Texas Tech dedicated the $22.8 million Terry Fuller Petroleum Engineering Research Building in Lubbock in February of 2014. Housing the Bob L. Herd Department of Petroleum Engineering, the 43,000-sf facility features integrated teaching and research labs, smart classrooms, a fracturing techniques suite, a fluids lab, a rheology lab, a pressure volume temperature lab, and a reservoir simulation center and drilling lab. The project was designed by Kirksey Architecture and built by Vaughn Construction.
Swansea University broke ground in spring of 2014 on the $13 million Data Science Building. Located on the Singleton Park Campus, the collaborative, interdisciplinary project will be constructed adjacent to the Institute of Life Sciences facilities that are slated for occupancy in fall of 2015. The 31,000-sf Data Science @ ILS will house the Centre for the Improvement of Population Health through e-Records Research (CIPHER), the Farr Institute of Health Informatics Research, and the Administrative Data Research Centre Wales (ADRC Wales).
The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) and the University of California, Davis have initiated a new phase in their ongoing research collaboration by sharing resources and core services. UC Davis will benefit from on-site educational programs at the JAX mouse facility in Sacramento, Calif. JAX will provide mouse colony management services for UC Davis investigators, expediting research discoveries by preventing transportation delays.
