Research and Development

The Canadian federal government has announced the recipients of its 2007 research budget allocations. Science and technology growth will be supported by $1.3 billion in funding, including:

• $510 million to the Canada Foundation for Innovation 
• $350 million to Centres of Excellence in Commercialization and Research 
• $120 million to CANARIE to develop a next-generation research broadband network 
• $100 million to Genome Canada 
• $10 million to the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

Texas A&M University celebrated the opening of the QR520mn Engineering Research Building in Doha, Qatar, in March 2007. Located in the Qatar Foundation’s Education City, the facility is designed to be the most technologically advanced engineering research and education facility in the world. Designed by architects Ricardo Legorreta and Victor Legorreta, the complex consists of a four-story academic quadrangle connected to a three-story research building via an open multi-story atrium.

Cadence Design Systems broke ground in February 2007 on a five-story, 208,000-sf R&D center in San Jose, Calif. Housing engineering research in integrated circuits and electrical systems for the electronics industry, Building 10 will enable the consolidation of Cadence’s research and development operations in a single collaboration-enhancing technology center.

The City of New York is partnering with Alexandria Real Estate Equities of Pasadena, Calif., to develop the 1.1 million-sf East River Science Park. Groundbreaking will commence in early 2007 on the $700-million mixed-use life science campus sited on 3.5 acres in Manhattan. The first 670,000-sf phase of the project will consist of two towers, the first housing laboratory, office, and conference space; the second tower will house laboratory and office space over ground-level retail.

Yale University is developing the West Campus, an interdisciplinary research hub for disciplines including biology, chemistry, environmental science, and physics. Located on 136 acres in West Haven, Conn., the site was previously owned by Bayer and includes 17 buildings comprising 1.5 million-sf with 550,000-sf of biology and chemistry research laboratories. Renovations to the facilities will continue through summer of 2008 when initial occupancy will begin.

Qualcomm has completed the 909,170-sf Building W Campus in San Diego. The three-building project was designed by Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker and built by general contractor Roel Construction with Burkett & Wong as structural engineer and Walsh Engineers as mechanical engineer.

Novartis is planning to build an integrated research and development center in Shanghai, China. As the eighth site in the company's R&D network, the center will focus on infectious causes of cancer endemic to China and Asia and pharmaceutical research. Scientists will initially occupy a 5,000-square meter facility slated to open in May of 2007. Construction will begin in July 2007 on a permanent 38,000-square meter building to house 400 scientists.

The University of Queensland opened the $70-million Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) in Brisbane on Oct. 23, 2006. Located on the school's St. Lucia campus, the six-level facility will accommodate research combining the biological, physical, and chemical sciences. Housing over 250 staff and students with a maximum capacity of 350, the center houses state-of-the-art microfabrication facilities, a GMP-ready bioprocessing facility, world-class microscopy facilities, and advanced data storage and visualization capabilities. 

Millipore Corp. opened its 110,000-sf Bioprocess R&D center in Bedford, Mass., in October of 2006. Designed by ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, the facility contains 47,000 sf of laboratory space. The $50-million building will accommodate development of full-scale applications performance data and processes that simulate commercial conditions and will increase the speed and quality of biopharmaceutical production.

UC Berkeley will open the $162-million Stanley Hall in January of 2007. The 285,000-sf biosciences and bioengineering facility will house approximately 40 research labs, administrative and bioengineering department offices, and up to 10 core facilities. One of these core facilities, the 11,000-sf Biomolecular Nanotechnology Center, will manufacture chips for biochemical and medical applications. Stanley Hall will serve over 30 faculty and over 100 graduate students and is designed to foster multi-disciplinary collaboration.

Gemini Science Inc. (GSI) and La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology (LIAI) completed a new 145,000-sf collaborative research facility in La Jolla, Calif., in July of 2006. Located in the UC San Diego Science Research Park, the facility was designed by Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker and built by DPR Construction.

Nexus Properties is constructing the 141,157-sf University City Science Center in La Jolla, Calif. The two buildings comprise 50,925 sf and 90,232 sf and will accommodate biotechnology and R&D companies. The two-story project was designed by Pacific Cornerstone Architects and is slated for completion in late 2007. Staples Construction Company is the general contractor with CB Richard Ellis as leasing manager.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) opened its new $22-million Science and Technology Facility in Golden, Colo., in July of 2006. Designed to consolidate its research facilities into a single campus, the building enables NREL scientists to collaborate with private sector companies in photovoltaics and energy efficiency research. The Science and Technology Facility will also house the Department of Energy's local field office and 130 employees. Three additional facilities are planned at the site with construction beginning in 2007.

Johns Hopkins University is expanding operations at its Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. The engineering and R&D center will occupy a six-story, 243,000-sf facility that is under construction in the adjacent Montpelier Research Park. TC MidAtlantic Development, a subsidiary of Trammell Crow, is developing the six-story facility in partnership with Lovell America Inc. The project will break ground in late July of 2006 and reach completion by October of 2007.

Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) opened the $970-million National Security Sciences building in May of 2006.