Research and Development

The COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need for the research community to respond quickly to changing markets and to understand the value of laboratory spaces that are flexible, adaptable, and scalable. We’ve seen stadiums converted to makeshift hospitals, “drive-through” testing sites pop up in vacant parking lots, and testing laboratories continually ramp up production to expedite results. This quick-thinking behavior has been inspiring to witness but daunting to execute. Laboratories, by nature, are among the most complex building typologies, where the utmost importance is protecting both the health and safety of their occupants and the integrity of the research. The complexities of the resulting design can be challenging to undertake, but when faced with the extreme circumstances of a pandemic, it is possible to expedite the process with a combination of strategies.

King Street Properties has fully leased a 214,440-sf research facility in Lexington, Mass., to four pharmaceutical companies. Designed by R E Dinneen Architects & Planners, the four-story building will offer leading-edge lab and office environments for biomedical research. JLL is the leasing agent for the development, which has yet to open. Tenants include:

The Bolivian National Service of Agricultural Health and Food Safety is planning to build a 201,076-sf research campus in Santa Cruz. Strengthening the country’s research and diagnosis capacity for veterinary, phytosanitary, and food safety challenges, the state-of-the-art complex will provide four laboratory buildings for animal health, plant health, food safety, and fruit fly research, as well as an administrative center.

The University of Nevada, Reno opened the $92 million William N. Pennington Engineering Building in August of 2020. Designed by H+K Architects, the 100,000-sf facility offers dedicated space for the departments of chemical and materials engineering, civil and environmental engineering, electrical and biomedical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer science. The collaborative four-story building provides 40 labs, a 200-seat classroom, two computer labs, 40 faculty offices, and 150 graduate student workstations.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney opened the $30 million Discovery Hall in September of 2020. Offering technology-rich labs and classrooms for experiential learning, the three-story, 90,000-sf facility accommodates STEM programs in mathematics, engineering, physics, astronomy, construction management, industrial distribution, interior design, aviation, computer science, and information technology.

Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies broke ground in August of 2020 on the $55 million Advanced Therapies Innovation Center in College Station, Texas. Representing an expansion of Fujifilm's cGMP manufacturing campus, the 60,000-sf facility will feature dedicated labs for process development and innovation. Research environments with BSL-2 capabilities will integrate advanced technologies for upstream, downstream, and analytical development.

Nagasaki University is planning to build a BSL-4 laboratory for SARS-CoV-2 research. The biocontainment facility will be located in an eight-story, 43,000-sf building providing specialized environments for the detection, study, and mitigation of infectious diseases. A dedicated area will accommodate novel coronavirus research. The Japanese government is expected to award $9.5 million in funding for fiscal year 2021 towards the construction of the project, which will also support training programs and the development of human resources.

The University of Colorado opened the $61.4 million William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center in August of 2020 in Colorado Springs. Designed by HOK and RTA Architects, the 104,600-sf facility integrates undergraduate and graduate education with clinical practice and research in a sports medicine and performance environment.

The University of Texas at San Antonio opened the $95 million Science and Engineering Building in August of 2020. Designed by TreanorHL and Alamo Architects, the four-story, 160,349-sf facility provides teaching and research labs, active learning classrooms, and faculty offices to support programs in biology, chemistry, engineering, and neurology.

The International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL) is expanding the Laboratory Benchmarking Tool. The new Operational Practices Module will enable lab owners and managers see how their building’s policies and practices compare with those of their peers in terms of lab ventilation rates, night temperature setbacks, occupant engagement programs, exhaust dispersion analyses, and other metrics.

The National Air and Space Intelligence Center awarded Messer Construction a $126.3 million contract in August of 2020 to build the final phase of the Intelligence Production Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Offering collaboration spaces and workstations for 980 analysts, the five-story complex will provide an additional 255,000 sf of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) space.

Middle Tennessee State University opened the $39.6 million Academic Classroom Building in August of 2020 in Murfreesboro. Designed by Bauer Askew Architecture, the 91,200-sf facility provides the College of Behavioral and Health Sciences with 14 classrooms, five computer teaching labs, research labs, specialized instructional suites, and faculty offices.

ABB is planning to construct a $30 million manufacturing center in San Giovanni Valdarno, Italy. The 172,200-sf facility will support the production of direct-current battery chargers for electric vehicles. Accelerating the company's growth and innovation in the electromobility sector, the sustainably designed project will leverage highly efficient building systems and rooftop photovoltaic arrays to achieve optimal energy performance and reduce carbon emissions.

Codiak BioSciences is constructing a 12,000-sf clinical manufacturing center in Lexington, Mass. The project includes the build-out of a leased lab and office building to create a GMP facility for the production of exosome therapeutics. Codiak is incorporating G-CON Manufacturing's PODs into the center to provide flexible cleanroom capacity. The prefabricated units offer exceptional scalability and mobility, and can be easily repurposed to meet future needs.

Drexel University is partnering with Wexford Science+Technology to create the Drexel Academic Tower in Philadelphia. Construction began in July of 2020 on the structure, which will provide Drexel with 450,000 sf of rented space in the University City district. The College of Nursing and Health Professions will be located in the building, with classes beginning in fall of 2022.