Research and Development

Montana State University dedicated the Eastern Agricultural Research Center and Extension building in Sidney in July of 2011. Ground was broken on the $3.2 million facility in July of 2010. The building houses three research labs, two greenhouses, offices, and a 150-seat conference room. The general contractor for the 12,000-sf project was Fisher Construction. The facility will support crop science and agribusiness research and education.

Brookhaven National Lab has awarded U.W. Marx Construction Company a $33 million contract to renovate 89,000 sf in two buildings. The project will update laboratories, support space, and offices in the physics building and the chemistry building in Upton, N.Y. Construction will begin by October of 2011. The $50.8 million project includes installation of new air handling systems to optimize temperature and humidity control and reduce energy consumption; the HVAC systems will include HEPA filtration.

Shionogi celebrated the opening of its $246.4 million pharmaceutical research facility in August of 2011. Located in Toyonaka City, Osaka, the 105,476-sf building will consolidate Shionogi's drug discovery research from four separate locations. The Shionogi Pharmaceutical Research Center (SPRC) is designed to foster interaction and collaboration and features advanced instrumentation and laboratory equipment. Construction began on the facility in September of 2008 with completion in July of 2011.

Florida Atlantic University attained LEED Platinum sustainable design certification in August of 2011 for the new College of Engineering and Computer Science Building. Located in Boca Raton, the five-story, 97,000-sf facility houses classrooms and advanced laboratories for research, computer design, and instrumentation. The building includes chilled beam technology, geothermal wells, heat exchangers, lighting controls, and solar water heating. The project architect was Schwab, Twitty & Hanser with James A.

AnC Bio Vermont will begin construction in summer of 2012 on a $100 million biomedical research and manufacturing facility in Newport. The 134,000-sf project includes renovation of an existing 90,000-sf building and construction of a stem cell production lab.

Construction will begin in spring of 2012 on a flexible, modular laboratory at Dounreay Nuclear Site in Thurso, Scotland. Comprising 35 steel-framed modules, the facility will house six laboratories with gloveboxes, 36 fume hoods, and an advanced HEPA-filtered ventilation system. The $11.4 million construction contract was awarded to a consortium including Yorkon, Studsvik, JGC Engineering & Technical Services, and S&B UK. Completion is expected in fall of 2013.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will begin building the User Test Bed facility in spring of 2012 in Berkeley, Calif. Supported by $15.9 million in federal stimulus funding, the reconfigurable facility will enable researchers and manufacturers to test building components and systems to optimize efficiency. The lab's walls, windows, lighting, offices, and HVAC system will be fully changeable to support building performance research. Completion is expected in spring of 2013.

Manchester College broke ground on the $20 million School of Pharmacy in August of 2011. Located in Fort Wayne, Ind., the 80,000-sf facility will feature technology-rich lecture halls, interaction and collaboration space, and advanced teaching and research labs. Completion is expected in summer of 2012. The project architect is Design Collaborative and the general contractor is Michael Kinder & Sons.

Gilead is planning  to build a 192,054-sf research laboratory in Foster City, Calif. Existing buildings at the site will be demolished, with a start date for construction not yet set. The four-story facility is part of Gilead's planned 40-acre campus in Foster City, which could reach 1.2 million sf in 16 buildings at maximum buildout. The campus will include a pilot plant as well as office buildings, laboratories, and manufacturing facilities.

Colorado State University is planning a $16 million expansion of the Engines and Energy Conversion Lab in Fort Collins. The three-story, sustainably designed building will provide between 50,000 and 60,000 sf of classrooms, labs, and offices. The existing 15,088-sf lab will also be renovated. The completed facility, to be renamed the Energy Innovation Center, will feature advanced building systems and technologies. Occupancy is expected in 2013.

A 20-story research tower will be constructed in the Medical and Related Science (MaRS) Discovery District in Toronto. The $344.5 million project will double the size of the existing 750,000-sf MaRS building, with the completed facility providing 1.5 million sf of laboratories and offices. Supporting advanced biomedical research, the MaRS Centre Phase 2 project will accommodate up to 5,000 investigators, staff, and professionals. The Ontario Institute for Cancer Research and Public Health Ontario will anchor the new facility.

The $21 million Memphis Specialized Operations Lab will be built in the UT-Baptist Research Park in Memphis, Tenn. The 25,000-sf facility will provide R&D space for biotechnology companies seeking FDA product approval. The lab was designed by Self Tucker Architects and will include a vivarium. 

The University of Houston is leveraging Aircuity’s OptiNet demand-control ventilation (DCV) system to develop a ventilation optimization program that will not only enhance indoor air quality, but significantly improve overall energy efficiency in its new 167,000-sf Health and Biomedical Science Center. When at full capacity, the annual energy savings for this facility are projected to be $239,270, which would give the project a simple return on investment of two years.

Oklahoma State University's Institute for Agricultural Biosciences will open in Ardmore in September of 2011. Supporting research on agricultural energy sources, the $15 million facility will provide administrative space, traditional and controlled environmental laboratories, greenhouses, and conference rooms for the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project. Ground was broken on the three-story building in May of 2009. 

GE Aviation is planning to build a 300,000-sf manufacturing facility in Ellisville, Miss. Located in the Howard Technology Park, the $56 million project will support production of advanced composite components for aircraft engines and systems. The facility will house 250 employees. Completion is expected in late 2012.