Research and Development

The University of Nebraska Medical Center is renovating the Munroe-Meyer Institute for Genetics and Rehabilitation in Omaha. Designed by Altus Architectural Studio, the $86 million project includes the redevelopment of an existing structure to create an integrated 220,078-sf facility for the treatment of patients with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Doubling the current size of the institute, the building will house the interdisciplinary Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, the Warren G.

Exyte is partnering with Univercells Technologies to create modular biomanufacturing facilities to meet the increased global demand for vaccines during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Exyte’s prefabricated construction system, ExyCell, is paired with Univercells’ NevoLine biomanufacturing platform which features the scale-X™ fixed-bed bioreactor at its core.

American University is constructing the $90 million Hall of Science in Washington, D.C. Designed to promote innovation and collaboration, the 125,000-sf building will provide shared research areas where students and faculty can participate in joint projects with scientists from the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

Erlab, a leading provider of air filtration solutions, is presenting a webinar on the mitigation of chemical risks in the laboratory at 10:00 AM BST on May 29, 2020. The one-and-a-half hour session will explore strategies for treating chemical risks at the source to enhance occupant safety and promote operational efficiency.

Visit GoToWebinar to register.

The webinar is also being offered in Spanish, Polish, French, and Maghreb French on separate days:

The US Navy broke ground in May of 2020 on the $23 million Directed Energy Systems Integration Laboratory in Port Hueneme, Calif. Located at Naval Base Ventura County's Point Mugu sea range, the 18,500-sf facility will allow the Naval Surface Warfare Center to provide accelerated delivery of laser lethality to warfighters at sea.

Medicago is building a 646,000-sf vaccine manufacturing complex in Quebec City, Canada. Designed by NFOE, the facility will support the production of approximately 50 million doses of recombinant quadrivalent influenza vaccine per year. The project has a construction cost of CAD$143 million and is expected to be fully operational in 2023.

Medicago is currently developing a vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 which has successfully induced a positive antibody response in mouse models. Human clinical trials are expected to begin in summer of 2020. 

Montana State University Billings is renovating and expanding an existing structure to create the 80,000-sf Yellowstone Science and Allied Health Building. Designed by Dowling Studio Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the $15 million project includes the construction of a three-story, 30,000-sf addition that will provide 16 teaching labs, 11 research labs, classrooms, study spaces, and a shared equipment core.

Allentown, an industry leader in research animal housing solutions, is offering a webinar on May 20, 2020. "Benefits of Biocontainment" will address the global challenges facing the animal housing industry and the ways in which biocontainment protocols can help address some of these issues when employed in the Allentown BCU-2 IVC and Cage system.

The webinar will be aired in two sessions at 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM EDT. 

To register, visit Allentown, Inc.
 

Thermo Fisher Scientific is planning to build a $180 million viral vector development and manufacturing facility in Plainville, Mass. Featuring flexible and scalable production suites, the 290,000-sf structure will leverage advanced digital technologies to enhance operational efficiencies.

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln is renovating and expanding its engineering complex to provide leading-edge environments for learning and discovery. The $75 million project will replace an existing 25,300-sf structure with an 87,000-sf research facility connecting the Scott Engineering Center to Nebraska Hall. The four-story, 177,000-gsf Scott Engineering Center will be renovated to provide new undergraduate teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, and departmental offices.

Biogen completed construction in late spring of 2020 on a leading-edge biologics manufacturing center in Luterbach, Switzerland. Representing an investment of $1.5 billion, the modular and flexible facility leverages Biogen’s latest strategies for fed-batch cell culture technologies and protein purification processes. Offering two cell manufacturing lines, the 260,000-sf complex features two production buildings, each housing four 15,000-liter bioreactors. The campus also provides laboratories, offices, maintenance buildings, and a warehouse.

Colorado State University broke ground in May of 2020 on the $60 million Vida building in Denver. The 114,000-sf facility represents the first phase of construction at CSU's $200 million Spur campus at the National Western Center. The 250-acre site is being redeveloped to create a vibrant hub for the exploration of global issues including human and animal health, water quality, and sustainable food systems. 

Global pharmaceutical firm XBiotech is planning to construct a 30,000-sf R&D laboratory in Austin, Texas. The facility will accelerate the creation of innovative treatments for infectious diseases. The project will be sited on the company's 48-acre headquarters campus, which includes a 33,000-sf research and manufacturing center that is also undergoing expansion to accommodate greater output, a larger workforce, increased inventory, and around-the-clock production operations.

The University of Maine began construction in May of 2020 on the $78 million Ferland Engineering Education and Design Center in Orono. Designed by Ellenzweig and WBRC Architects/Engineers to promote experiential learning, the 108,000-sf facility will feature hands-on teaching labs for programs in mechanical and biomedical engineering. The three-story multidisciplinary building will also offer instructional spaces, capstone project rooms, a collaboration commons, conference rooms, informal meeting areas, and offices for faculty and staff.

Hixson is offering a free webinar at 2:00 PM EDT on May 14, 2020. "Optimizing Your Lab Facility: Removing Roadblocks to Success" will enable facilities planning and management professionals to learn how to identify barriers to R&D lab performance; discover design and engineering solutions that can reduce or eliminate lab constraints; and develop a winning business case to make strategic capital investments for facility improvements.

Many existing lab spaces are filled with roadblocks that cause them to be less than ideal: