Novavax is expanding its operations in Gaithersburg, Md., with the long-term lease of 74,000 sf of manufacturing, lab, and office space in two buildings. The main facility will undergo renovation to become Novavax's primary commercial-scale plant for cGMP production of seasonal and pandemic VLP influenza vaccines. Completion is expected in mid-2012. The company's corporate headquarters will be relocated to the second building at the same campus.
The University of Queensland began building the $30 million Global Change Institute in November of 2011. Located in St Lucia, the energy and environmental science research facility will be certified by the Living Building Challenge for sustainable design. The building will be carbon and water neutral and will feature a passive heating and cooling system, a pneumatic roof, and an atrium with a living wall and a waterfall.
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is planning to build an $80 million petascale supercomputer facility in Kensington, Western Australia. The project will provide computational research support for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder project and the Murchison Widefield Array radio astronomy telescopes, as well as accommodating research in geoscience, nanotechnology, and biotechnology. Construction will begin in 2012 and completion is expected in mid-2014.
The University of Glasgow is building the $14 million Beatson Translational Research Centre in Glasgow, Scotland. The four-story facility will provide laboratories for cancer research. Balfour Beatty Engineering Services is the mechanical and electrical services contractor. The building will feature a high efficiency chiller and air handling units with Econet heat recovery packages. The plant skids and modular risers will be manufactured offsite to support lean construction methodology. Completion is expected in summer of 2012.
Auburn University broke ground on the $28.8 million Center for Advanced Science, Innovation and Commerce in November of 2011. The 84,000-sf collaborative facility will provide 20 labs for the study of bioenergy, genomics, information science, food safety, water quality, and environmental health. The project is supported by $14.4 million in funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology with matching funds from the state of Alabama. Completion is expected in summer of 2013.
Woodward, a leading supplier of aircraft turbine controls and fuel systems, opened its $21.2 million testing laboratory in November of 2011 in Loves Park, Ill. The facility includes a machine shop, assembly space, conference rooms, offices, and 12 environmental testing cells. Ground was broken on the project in July of 2010 and it was delivered on time and under budget by general contractor Ringland-Johnson Construction.
Toppan Photomasks announced plans in November of 2011 to expand its Shanghai manufacturing operation to better serve China's rapidly growing semiconductor industry.
Construction began in November of 2011 on the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Disputanta, Va. The 60,000-sf collaborative research facility represents a partnership of the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University. Supporting advanced research in surface engineering and manufacturing systems, the 50,000-sf facility will house computational and large-scale production labs as well as production space for heavy equipment and surface coating processes.
Binghamton University opened the $66 million Engineering and Science Building in November of 2011. Located in Vestal, N.Y., the two-story, 125,000-sf building houses the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. The facility provides flexible teaching and research labs and business incubator space for the development of industry partnerships.
Boehringer Ingelheim broke ground on a $65 million research and development facility in Ridgefield, Conn., in November of 2011. The 72,000-sf facility will support the production of active pharmaceutical ingredients for early stage product development. Completion is expected in 2014. A $42.5 million safety assessment building is also under construction. Boehringer Ingelheim is based in Germany.
Aston University began construction in fall of 2011 on the £16.5 million European Bioenergy Research Institute in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. The facility will house research laboratories for the development of advanced energy technologies. The building will be powered by renewable energy from pilot scale photo bioreactors and a small scale industrial power plant which will generate heat and power from biomass.
The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is planning to build a 10-acre research park in Torrance, Calif. The project team includes ZGF Architects and general contractor Webcor Builders. The research park represents a public-private partnership with the County of Los Angeles.
RNL Bio opened a 41,600-sf stem cell medical center in Beijing in November of 2011. Located in the Yanda International Medical Research Institute, the GMP facility will provide stem cell storage for up to 20,000 patients. RNL Bio is based in South Korea.
Ohio State University will begin building the $126 million Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building in Columbus in summer of 2012. The 225,000-gsf facility will house research laboratories.
The University of British Columbia opened the Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) in Vancouver in November of 2011. The $37 million facility is heralded as the most sustainable building in North America and will act as a living laboratory for research and innovation on global sustainability challenges. CIRS is one of only a handful of buildings worldwide that provide “net positive” benefits to the environment.
