Research and Development

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.

The University of Manchester completed the £20 million Dalton Cumbrian Facility in November of 2011. The laboratory is located in Moor Row, Cumbria, in the Westlakes Science and Technology Park. Housing the Dalton Nuclear Institute, the facility will support research on radiochemistry, radiation science, nuclear engineering, decommissioning, and radioactive waste management. The project team includes Wilson Mason Architects, project manager Drivers Jonas Deloitte, and contractor Morgan Sindall.

Lockheed Martin is building the NextGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Centre (NCITE) in Canberra, Australia. The 9,687-sf facility will support the creation of advanced military cybersecurity technologies. The building will house 200 employees and is expected to open in March of 2012.

The University of Minnesota has installed a new wind turbine at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory in Minneapolis. The 2.5 megawatt Clipper Liberty wind turbine will support teaching, research, and training for the sustainable energy industry. The turbine was funded by an award of $7.9 million in federal stimulus funding.

The University of Strathclyde opened the $58 million Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences in November of 2011 in Glasgow. The 86,111-sf facility was designed by Sheppard Robson to accommodate interdisciplinary research and development of advanced therapeutics. The six-story project houses a 160-seat teaching lab, research labs, a cleanroom, and the departments of physiology, bioscience, immunology, pharmaceutical sciences, and pharmacology.