Research and Development

Marquette University is planning to construct the $100 million Discovery Learning Complex in Milwaukee. Housing the College of Engineering, the facility will be structured around 15 pods housing conjoined classrooms, faculty offices, and research labs in each grouping. The project will feature multidisciplinary labs for materials and structural testing, complex systems, mechatronics, visualization, neuromechanics, and biomedical imaging. A specialized energy workshop lab will focus on development of alternative energy resources.

The University of California at San Francisco (UCSF) will break ground in fall of 2008 on the 74,832-gsf Institute for Regeneration Medicine on its Parnassus campus. Designed by Rafael Viñoly Architects, the $128-million facility is supported by a $34.8 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). Housing multidisciplinary stem cell research, the 46,283-asf project will be comprised of four split-level floors housing wet labs, support and offices.

Dartmouth University is constructing a $93-million life sciences building on its Hanover, N.H., campus. Named the Class of 1978 Life Sciences Center, the 174,000-sf sustainably designed facility broke ground in late fall of 2007 and is slated for completion in March of 2010. The complex will house 30 research labs, six teaching labs, three lecture halls, and two classrooms. Sustainable design features of the project include extensive use of natural light, storm water recycling, and a green roof over the auditorium.

Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory (MDIBL) dedicated its LEED-certified research facility in August of 2008 in Salisbury Cove, Maine. Doubling the footprint of MDIBL’s existing building, the 15,000-sf facility houses the Morris Center for the Environment and Human Health, the Boylan Center for Cellular and Molecular Physiology, the Marine DNA Sequencing and Analysis Facility, laboratory space for six research groups, and a teaching lab. The construction manager for the $7.1 million project was Nickerson and O’Day of Bangor.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is constructing the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research in Cambridge, Mass. The project broke ground in March of 2008 with completion slated for December of 2010. The 365,000-sf, seven-story plus basement facility will have a footprint of 45,000 sf and will be connected to existing facilities by underground tunnels. The project architect is Ellenzweig with William A. Berry & Son as general contractor.

Washington State University (WSU) is planning a $57 million Agricultural Research Service research facility in Pullman. The project will house laboratories for the study of plant genetics, crop and animal diseases, and soil management. The project is part of a seven-building Sciences/Biotechnology complex that includes the $62-million Biotechnology/Life Sciences Facility and the $35 million School for Global Animal Health.

Rockefeller University is constructing the $400 million Collaborative Research Center in New York, N.Y. Designed by Mitchell/Giurgola, the facility includes a large glass structure connecting two renovated biological research laboratories. The project broke ground in September of 2007 with completion slated for 2012. The general contractor is Turner Construction Company.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory is initiating an $89 million steam plant renovation to create a biomass-fueled plant utilizing wood and wood products. The biomass plant will create an annual savings of $8.7 million on water and energy costs with return on investment expected in 11 years. The project is one of four energy-saving performance contracts announced by the Department of Energy, with similar projects occurring at Idaho National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pennsylvania.

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory is planning to create a bioMEMS research and development center at the University of South Florida in Tampa. The facility will support research in microelectromechancial systems for biomedical applications in partnership with USF and its medical school. Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, based in Cambridge, Mass., will also construct a production center in St. Petersburg for the manufacture of multi-chip modules combining multiple integrated circuits on a single chip.

Compagnie de Saint-Gobain broke ground in July of 2008 on a $15 million expansion of its research and development facility in Northborough, Mass. The project will add 61,000-sf of laboratory, office, and conference space to the building, which is one of Saint-Gobain’s four worldwide research centers. The expansion will enable the company to add an additional 40 workers at the site for a total of 340 employees. The architect for the expansion is Shepley Bulfinch of Boston with A.J. Martini of Winchester as general contractor.

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) is building a $100 million biomedical research campus in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. The Hillside Campus will be comprised of six buildings totaling 100,000 sf and will house 15 additional faculty and 200 employees. Increasing CSHL’s research facilities by 40 percent, the project will support molecular biology and genetics research on cancer, autism, and schizophrenia.

King's College London has selected Devereux Architects and Allies & Morrison to design its £41m Clinical Neuroscience Institute facility. The project will support translational research on neuroscience, neurogenetics, epilepsy, and neurodegeneration. Completion is expected by December of 2010.

Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries is constructing the Center for Advanced Environmental Research (CAER) in Beacon, N.Y. Designed by Croxton Collaborative Architects and built by Turner Construction, the 30,000-sf research facility will support the development of river system monitoring technologies including networking and data analysis related to environmental sensors. The River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON) will be headquartered in the new facility.

DuPont Danisco Cellulosic Ethanol is partnering with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation to build a cellulosic ethanol R&D facility and pilot-scale biorefinery in Vonore, Tenn. Developing the commercial package for DDCE’s cellulosic ethanol technology, the plant includes a process development unit (PDU). Sited in the Niles Ferry Industrial Park, the facility will utilize corn stover and switchgrass, two non-food biomass feedstocks, to produce 250,000 gallons of cellulosic ethanol annually.

The University of California, Los Angeles is planning to construct the $41.8 million Broad Stem Cell Research Center. The 34,587-sf project was awarded $19.8 million in funding from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in May of 2008.