Research and Development

The $1 billion Francis Crick Institute is under construction in London. The 10-story, 980,000-sf facility was designed by HOK in partnership with PLP Architecture to accommodate interdisciplinary biomedical research. Construction began in June of 2011 with occupancy expected in 2015. The general contractor for the project is Laing O’Rourke. The Francis Crick Institute will house 1,250 researchers and 250 support staff and will include biocontainment laboratories.

Binghamton University is planning to build the $70 million Smart Energy Research and Development Facility in Vestal, N.Y. The project will support the development of industry partnerships and will accommodate research programs in solar and thermoelectric energy harvesting, energy storage, energy efficiency in electronic systems, and sensor development for energy resource management. Construction is expected to begin in mid-2012 and reach completion by fall of 2017.

Baxter International will begin construction in 2012 on a $1 billion biologics manufacturing complex in Atlanta. Accommodating over 1,500 employees, the facility will support the creation of advanced plasma-based therapeutics. Commercial production is expected to begin in 2018.

Wayne State University is planning to create the $93 million Multidisciplinary Biomedical Research Facility in Detroit. Designed by Harley Ellis Devereaux, the project will include 127,700 gsf of renovated space and 75,000 gsf of new construction. The building will house programs in bioinformatics, computational biology, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, biomedical engineering, and systems biology. The facility will house up to 450 staff members engaged in team-based research led by 45 principal investigators.

Purdue University will begin construction in summer of 2012 on the $28.7 million Drug Discovery Facility in West Lafayette, Ind. Located in the Purdue Life and Health Sciences Park, the project will feature open labs for cancer cell biology, therapeutic and medical device development, cell-based screening, medicinal chemistry, and next-generation imaging. The construction cost of the project is $23.6 million. The facility will be attached to the existing Bindley Bioscience Center and is supported by $14.9 million in federal funding. 

The University of Utah dedicated the $130 million James L. Sorenson Molecular Biotechnology Building in April of 2012. The multidisciplinary research facility was designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent in association with Prescott Muir Architects and houses the Brain Institute, the Nano Institute of Utah, and the Department of Bioengineering.

The Buck Institute for Research on Aging opened the $36.5 million Regenerative Medicine Research Center in April of 2012 in Novato, Calif. Designed by Perkins+Will of San Francisco, the 65,600-sf stem cell research facility provides 12 open labs, cell and tissue storage space, offices, and a fitness center. The building is three stories tall with a basement and features a geothermal heating and cooling system.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. broke ground in April of 2012 on a fifth phase of expansion at Fab 14 GigaFab in Taiwan. The facility will provide commercialized 20-nanometer process technology when it begins volume production in early 2014. Upon completion, a sixth phase of expansion will commence at Fab 14 for a combined construction value of $11.6 billion. The two phases will provide a total of 936,460 sf of cleanroom space. 

A 56,065-gsf expansion of the Joint Institute for Laboratory Astrophysics (JILA) opened in April of 2012 in Boulder, Colo. The project provides JILA, a research partnership of the University of Colorado and the National Institute of Standards and Technology, with additional vibration-mitigated laboratory space. In addition to a wide range of studies in atomic, molecular, and optical physics, JILA also makes extremely precise measurements of ultrafast processes and at ultralow temperatures.

Missouri University of Science and Technology will begin construction in fall of 2012 on the $22.3 million James E. Bertelsmeyer Hall in Rolla. The three-story, 68,500-sf facility will house the department of chemical and biological engineering. Designed by Clark Enersen Partners of Kansas City, Bertelsmeyer Hall will provide teaching and research labs, lecture halls, offices, student lounges, and mechanical suites. Completion is expected in May of 2014.

Animal health company Idexx Laboratories broke ground in April of 2012 on a $35.5 million expansion of its corporate headquarters in Westbrook, Maine. A 107,000-sf building will be constructed adjacent to Idexx's existing facility. Accommodating 300 employees, the project will allow Idexx to expand R&D operations. Completion is expected in August of 2013.

Swansea University completed construction of a seven-story, 64,583-sf dual-function research facility in March of 2012. The $46.33 million Institute of Life Science Phase II houses clinical research space, an imaging suite with MRI and CT scanners, and the Centre for Health Informatics, Research and Evaluation. The $35.14 Centre for NanoHealth is located on the ground floor of the building and provides advanced labs, a cleanroom, and nano-probe and e-beam instrumentation. The facility features a full-height glazed atrium, business incubator space, and a cafe.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals has completed a 104,000-sf expansion of its headquarters facility in Lexington, Mass. The Richmond Group managed the design/build project, which provides additional laboratories for the development of antibiotics and acute care products. Due to site restrictions and the existing building's footprint, the most cost effective solution for expansion was to build vertically.

HighRes Biosolutions announced the release of the ACell benchtop laboratory automation system in March of 2012. ACell is small enough for typical benchtop integrations and flexible enough for larger integrations on existing or new custom tables. ACell can incorporate a MicroDock, HighRes' patented device docking station, allowing swapping of instruments (such as a reader or pipettor) almost instantly, without having to reteach the robot or position and reconnect instruments manually.

The University of North Florida dedicated the $39.4 million Biological Sciences Building in March of 2012 in Jacksonville. The 116,500-sf facility provides 17 teaching labs, 37 offices, and 28 faculty research labs for the study of ecology, genetics, molecular biology, aquatics, physiology, and virology. Designed by a joint venture of Perkins + Will and Harvard Jolly, the building also houses four lecture halls, conference rooms, a necropsy lab, and a greenhouse. Construction began on the four-story project in July of 2010.