Research and Development

The National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center (NBACC) opened 30,000 sf of BSL-3 laboratory space at Fort Detrick in December of 2012. The facilities have been accredited by the Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, enabling the center to operate at full capacity. Construction was completed on the project in 2009. NBACC is operated by Battelle National Biodefense Institute for the Department of Homeland Security and includes 11,000 sf of BSL-4 space.

Tulane University opened the Donna and Paul Flower Hall for Research and Innovation in December of 2012 in New Orleans. Designed by Woodward Design + Build, the four-story, 24,000-sf facility includes 10,000 sf of research space housing 13 interdisciplinary laboratories. The project includes two floors of shell space, the completion of which is not included in the $7.4 million construction cost of the building. The facility will support research in energy, environmental science, gene therapy, and vaccine delivery.

The University of Manchester began building the new Manchester Cancer Research Centre in December of 2012. The $46 million facility will provide advanced laboratories for the development of personalized cancer therapies. The project is created in partnership with Cancer Research UK and The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. The general contractor is Capita Symonds. Occupancy is expected in summer of 2014.

Roche will build the $260 million Diagnostics Operations Complex II in Penzberg, Germany. The 280,000-sf project will support the production of reagents used in immunoassay testing. The complex will include a six-story lab building and two single-story manufacturing facilities. Completion is expected in late 2014.

The Air Force Research Laboratory opened the $24 million Advanced Power and Thermal Research Lab in December of 2012. Located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, the three-story, 53,000-sf facility provides research labs, cleanrooms, fabrication suites, blast-proof battery research chambers, and radio frequency-shielded labs for the study of electromagnetic interference. The facility was created by a complete renovation of the existing Static Test Laboratory. 

Mount Sinai Medical Center opened the $440 million Leon and Norma Hess Center for Science and Medicine in New York in December of 2012. Outpatient clinics are located on two floors of the 12-story facility with six floors dedicated to research laboratories. The 500,000-sf  Hess Center includes two basement levels housing advanced imaging technologies including a combined MRI/PET, a computed tomography scanner, and a 7 Tesla MRI.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory broke ground on the the Facility for Low-Energy Experiments on Buildings (FLEXLAB) in December of 2012. Supporting research on the energy performance of building systems, the project will include six interior and exterior testbeds occupying a 9,000-sf footprint. Providing reconfigurable research spaces, the facility will include a double-height testbed for the study of sustainable technologies for two-story structures.

The University of Michigan is planning to renovate 8,900 sf in Building 22 in the North Campus Research Complex to house the Electron Microbeam Analysis Laboratory. Consolidating microscopy resources currently dispersed in two separate locations, the $4.38 project will accommodate 12 microscopes for the analysis of materials on an atomic level.  

Royal DSM broke ground on a materials science research building in December of 2012 in Sittard-Geleen in the Netherlands. The R&D center will support the development of bio-based materials for the biomedical industry. Completion is expected in 2014. The project is part of a $130 million investment by Royal DSM in three new facilities in the Netherlands.

NanoViricides will renovate an existing 18,000-sf facility in Shelton, Conn., to create a cGMP pilot plant. Designed by Id3A, the facility will include research laboratories, offices, and a cGMP pharmaceutical manufacturing suite. The project manager and engineering consultant for the renovation is MPH Engineering.

The Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research opened its newly renovated research facility in November of 2012 in Melbourne. The $185 million project provides seven floors of biomedical laboratories, advanced cell and tissue imaging suites, flow cytometry facilities, a vivarium, and an insectary. The project included construction of a new wing, adding 167,000 sf to the existing 170,000-sf facility for a total footprint of 337,000 sf. The facility houses the Clinical Translational Centre and the Potter Centre for Genomics and Personalised Medicine.

The Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience was dedicated in December of 2012 in Jupiter, Fla. Located on six acres on the MacArthur campus of Florida Atlantic University, the three-story, 100,000-sf facility provides 58,000 sf of lab space for wet and dry bench research, vibration-isolated instrumentation suites, core imaging labs, and computational space. The $64 million center also provides research and administrative offices, conference rooms, a 100-seat auditorium, and a large atrium.

The University of Florida (UF) opened the $53 million Research and Academic Center at Lake Nona in Orlando in October of 2012. Housing biomedical research laboratories and instructional space for the College of Pharmacy and the College of Medicine, the 106,000-sf facility also houses the UF Clinical and Translational Science Institute, the Center for Pharmacometrics and Systems Pharmacology, the Institute of Therapeutic Innovation, and the Institute on Aging. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2010.

The University of Nebraska is planning to build a $370 million cancer research facility in Omaha. The project will include a hospital tower, inpatient and outpatient clinics, and biomedical research labs. Construction is expected to begin in November of 2013 and reach completion in April of 2016. 

The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology is planning to build the 83,000-sf Bureau of Geology Building in Socorro. Designed by Van Gilbert, the three-story facility will include flexible, double-loaded labs, office space, and a museum. The laboratory design consultant for the project is RFD (Research Facilities Design).