Research and Development

Wayne State University broke ground on the $93 million Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research Building in October of 2012 in Detroit. Designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux, the 200,000-sf project includes 127,700 gsf of renovated space and 75,000 gsf of new construction. Providing wet and dry labs, faculty offices, and clinical space, the facility will house programs in bioinformatics, computational biology, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, biomedical engineering, and systems biology. The general contractor is Barton Malow.

The National Center for Atmospheric Research opened the $66 million NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center (NWSC) in Cheyenne in October of 2012. Supporting advanced climate modeling, the 153,000-sf facility houses a 1.5 petaflop IBM supercomputer with over 100,000 processors in a 24,000-sf area with a sub-floor ten feet deep to accommodate infrastructure and cooling needs. The project was built by Saunders Construction of Denver and has attained LEED Gold sustainable design certification. 

Researchers at the Health Protection Agency (HPA) in the United Kingdom have developed a way to safely anesthetize and transfer animals from BSL-3 and BSL-4 containment to a mobile imaging facility for CT and MRI scans without breaking the containment barrier. The process allows them to obtain the high-resolution, three-dimensional images necessary for their research without building a costly suite onsite.

The University of Massachusetts Lowell opened the $80 million Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (ETIC) in October of 2012. Designed by HDR and built by Turner Construction, the 84,000-sf facility accommodates research in nanotechnology, molecular biology, plastics engineering, and optics. The building houses a biomedical materials development lab, a high bay manufacturing area, a compounding lab, and a nanotechnology R&D center with wet and dry chemistry, biology, and materials labs.

Colorado State University began construction in October of 2012 on a 65,000-sf million expansion of the Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory in Fort Collins. The $18.5 million project will provide additional research space for the College of Engineering and a business incubator. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility, which will feature combined heat and power, nighttime cold storage, and the use of wind, solar, and biomass fuel sources.

The District of Columbia opened the $210 million Consolidated Forensic Laboratory in October of 2012 in Washington. The 351,000-sf (287,000-nsf) facility provides diagnostic labs for public health, autopsies, DNA testing, and the investigation of bioterrorism threats. The eight-story building includes two floors below grade and includes a BSL-3 suite.

Marshall University broke ground in October of 2012 on the $50 million Applied Engineering Complex in Huntington, Va. The multistory facility will house the College of Information Technology and Engineering; the departments of Mathematics and Computational Science; a computer modeling, digital imaging, and simulation suite; the Transportation Research Corporation; the Marshall University Research Corporation; and mechanical, electrical engineering, and biomedical research labs.

The University of Ottawa broke ground on the Advanced Research Complex (ARC) in September of 2012. The $57 million project will house the Centre for Advanced Photonics and geoscience laboratories. The facility will feature low-vibration research spaces, constructed on an isolated slab, with refined temperature and humidity controls. The ARC will house an accelerator mass spectrometer and lasers for research in nanophotonics. Completion is expected in spring of 2014.

The University of Leicester opened a £16 million animal research facility in September of 2012 in the United Kingdom. The three-story, 48,000-sf Central Research Facility provides biomedical research laboratories, vivarium space for mice and rats, and advanced imaging suites. Construction began on the project in summer of 2010.

The University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences opened its new home, the $62 million John and Editha Kapoor Hall in September of 2012. Designed by S/L/A/M Collaborative, the 147,000-sf building provides teaching and research labs, classrooms, conference rooms, and computer labs. Supporting clinical and translational research, the building will accommodate the study of proteomics, protein therapeutics, and pharmacogenomics. Ground was broken on the project in September of 2009.

The University of Waterloo opened the $160 million Mike & Ophelia Lazaridis Quantum-Nano Centre in September of 2012. Designed by KPMB Architects of Toronto, the 276,000-sf, five-story facility features a 10,000-sf fabrication cleanroom, a metrology suite, teaching and research labs, seminar rooms, and faculty offices. Providing a research environment with minimal vibration, radio frequency interference, and electromagnetic interference, the building houses the Institute for Quantum Computing and the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology.

Arizona State University opened the $112 million Interdisciplinary Science and Technology Building IV (ISTB 4) in Tempe in September of 2012. The seven-story, 293,000-sf facility provides flexible laboratories for the School of Earth and Space Exploration and the Schools of Engineering and houses the Security and Defense Systems Initiative.

The University of Windsor opened the $112 million Ed Lumley Centre for Engineering Innovation in September of 2012. Designed by B+H Architects, the 300,000-sf facility provides 80 teaching and/or research labs, eight classrooms, offices, student meeting rooms, and a wind tunnel. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which features a living wall, a green roof, and an advanced ventilation system for optimal indoor air quality. The project manager was J.P.

The University of British Columbia opened the $133 million Pharmaceutical Sciences Building in September of 2012 in Vancouver. The 246,182-sf facility provides collaborative learning spaces and multidisciplinary research labs. The building houses both the Centre for Drug Research and Development and the Centre for High-Throughput Phenogenomics, which includes an advanced imaging suite. The facility was designed by Saucier + Perrotte Architects and Hughes Condon Marler Architects (HCMA).

Samsung Information Systems Americas will relocate its R&D center from San Jose to two new facilities in Mountain View, Calif. Designed by Studios Architecture of San Francisco, the project includes construction of two six-story, 192,500-sf research office buildings. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the 385,000-sf development, which will be built by Devcon Construction. Occupancy is expected in late 2014.