Research and Development

Rochester Institute of Technology broke ground on the $35 million Golisano Institute for Sustainability in April of 2011 in Rochester, N.Y. The 75,000-sf project is support by a $13.1 million NIST construction grant and $10 million in funding from the state of New York. The multidisciplinary facility will provide labs, classrooms, and conference rooms for research and development of sustainable business practices.

General Electric Aviation broke ground on the $51 million Electrical Power Integrated Systems Research and Development Center (EPISCENTER) in April of 2011. Sited on land owned by the University of Dayton, the 120,000-sf facility will support research on electrical power systems for aircraft, ships, and automobiles. Featuring advanced simulation suites, the four-story facility will include a 40,000-sf office building and an 80,000-sf research facility. EPISCENTER will serve as an anchor of the Ohio Aerospace Hub of Innovation and Opportunity.

The University of Maine is engaged in a $22.4 million expansion of the AEWC Advanced Structures and Composites Center in Orono. The 35,000-sf facility includes a 2,500-sf nanocomposites laboratory, offices, classrooms, and the Offshore Wind Laboratory. The wind lab features a reaction wall and floor for structural testing of wind turbine blades as well as an environmental simulation area and a wave-wind basin. A robotic composite manufacturing suite will produce turbine blades on site.

The University of Rochester Medical Center opened the $76.4 million Saunders Research Building in April of 2011 in Rochester, N.Y. The 200,000-sf interdisciplinary facility houses labs, offices, classrooms, and the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2008. LEED sustainable design certification will be sought for the facility.

The University of Michigan broke ground on the $46 million Center of Excellence in Nanomechanical Science and Engineering in Ann Arbor in April of 2011. The 62,800-sf facility will support interdisciplinary research in nanoengineering, imaging and optics, materials, biosystems, micro-bioengineering, mechanics and mechanical testing, and microdynamics. The three-story center will house 60 lab modules, eight specialized chambers, faculty offices, and a subterranean lab built to minimize vibration. Completion is expected in mid-2013.

Columbia University broke ground on its Manhattanville Campus in New York in March of 2011. The 17-acre site in West Harlem will house several new buildings including the Jerome L. Greene Science Center for Mind, Brain, and Behavior which is slated for completion in 2015. Columbia’s Manhattanville campus will meet LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) standards. The project team for the LEED-ND program includes Renzo Piano Building Workshop and architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

Ground was broken in April of 2011 on the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing in Disputanta, Va. The collaborative research facility represents a partnership of the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Virginia State University. Founding industry partners include Canon Virginia, Chromalloy, Newport News Shipbuilding, Rolls-Royce, Sandvik Coromant, and Siemens.

The University of Adelaide is planning to build a $97 million facility to house the Institute for Photonics and Advanced Sensing. Designed by Hames Sharley of Adelaide, the six-story building will provide research labs, instructional space, and a 400-seat lecture hall.

The University of Queensland will build the $107 million Advanced Engineering Building in Brisbane. Located on the St. Lucia campus, the seven-story, 236,808-sf facility will be built to attain a Green Star rating from the Green Building Council of Australia. The building will house instructional space, testing labs, design studios, administrative offices, and an auditorium. The general contractor for the project is Watpac Construction.

The University of Leicester will break ground in spring of 2011 on the $20.5 million Cardiovascular Research Centre (CRC). The four-story, 23,680-sf facility will be built as an addition to the clinical sciences wing of Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, U.K. The project team includes architectural firm ADP of Birmingham and general contractor Morgan Sindall. The CRC will house research laboratories, academic space, and a sample bank. Completion is expected in February of 2012.

Rice University dedicated the $44.5 million Brockman Hall for Physics in March of 2011. Construction began on the 111,000-sf facility in fall of 2009. The project was supported by $11 million in stimulus funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology. The four-story building houses advanced laboratories for experimental, theoretical, and applied physics.

The University of Alaska Fairbanks broke ground on the $108.6 million Life Sciences Building on March 30, 2011. The 101,000-sf teaching and research facility will house advanced laboratories, offices, classrooms, and an auditorium. Davis Constructors and Engineers provided design consultation services for the project. Completion is expected in 2014.

Hewlett-Packard is building a 49,960-sf data center and research facility in Fort Collins, Colo. The 10-megawatt center will use microgrids to power and cool 10,000 servers. Functioning as a living laboratory for sustainable data center development, the project will include 10,000 sensors for energy and temperature monitoring.

Purdue University broke ground on a $23.5 million facility for the Center for High Performance Buildings on April 1, 2011. The 68,000-sf project represents an expansion of the existing Ray W. Herrick Laboratories. Construction of the first phase will begin in July of 2011 and reach completion in early 2013. The project is supported by $11.75 million in funding from the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Nintendo is planning to build a $205 million R&D facility in Kyoto. Construction will begin on the seven-story, 430,000-sf project in January of 2012 with completion expected by 2013. The facility will house over 1,500 employees engaged in product development.