Research and Development

Washington University in St. Louis broke ground on a $616 million neuroscience research center in March of 2020. Designed by Perkins+Will and CannonDesign, the 609,000-sf building will accommodate over 100 research teams in collaborative neighborhoods to promote interaction. Strategically sited between the university's medical campus and the Cortex Innovation Community, the 11-story facility will house approximately 900 investigators from the departments of neurology, neuroscience, neurosurgery, psychiatry, and anesthesiology.

The Chemours Company, a specialty chemical manufacturer, opened the $150 million Discovery Hub in March of 2020 in Newark, Del. Supporting collaborative research, commercialization, and training initiatives, the 312,000-sf facility is located on the University of Delaware’s Science, Technology, and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. Accommodating 330 investigators, the innovation center houses 130 labs, offices, huddle rooms, conference spaces, and cafés.

East Carolina University is constructing the $90 million Life Sciences and Biotechnology Building in Greenville, N.C. Designed by Lord Aeck Sargent, the 141,500-sf facility will provide wet bench and computational labs for programs in biotechnology, biophysics, biofuels, environmental engineering, imaging, and sensor development. Enabling students to engage in collaborative research with academic and industry partners, the four-story structure will include classrooms, lecture halls, administrative offices, core labs, and support spaces.

The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) is building the CAD$400 million Patient Support Centre in Toronto. Designed by B+H Architects, the 22-story, 525,616-sf project will provide education, training, and administrative facilities. Two additional sub-grade floors will house a simulation center with advanced virtual reality technologies for the SickKids Learning Institute.

Rice University opened the $38 million Kraft Hall for Social Sciences in February of 2020 in Houston. Designed by Rogers Partners, the four-story, 78,000-sf building provides five state-of-the-art classrooms, laboratories, seminar and conference rooms, student lounges, administrative and faculty offices, and a multipurpose venue able to accommodate 300 people.

Audentes Therapeutics is planning to construct a $109 million gene therapy manufacturing facility in Sanford, N.C. The 135,000-sf project will support the production of genetic medicines based on adeno-associated virus vectors for the treatment of rare neuromuscular diseases. The center is expected to be operational by 2021. Audentes Therapeutics is a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma.

The Texas A&M University System is creating a $546 million complex at the Texas Medical Center in Houston. A renovated 18-story structure will accommodate the groundbreaking Engineering Medicine (EnMed) program when it opens in summer of 2020. Two new towers will be developed through a public-private partnership (P3). Slated for completion in June of 2022, a 365,000-sf residential facility will offer 572 units providing 704 beds for medical and nursing students, and a 1.2 million-sf parking garage will accommodate 3,444 cars.

The University of Warwick celebrated the opening of the £150 million National Automotive Innovation Campus in February of 2020. Located in Coventry in the United Kingdom, the four-story, 355,200-sf complex was created in partnership with Jaguar Land Rover, Tata Motors, and the Warwick Manufacturing Group. Designed as a catalyst for economic and workforce development, the National Automotive Innovation Campus will accelerate the creation of sustainable mobility solutions such as electrified and autonomous vehicles.

Research into the causes of and potential treatments for neurodegenerative diseases has always been inherently multidisciplinary, combining basic sciences with numerous medical specialties. At the same time, neuroscience research requires a variety of targeted specialized spaces. Facilities that support that research, therefore, must be designed to accommodate both the interdisciplinary and the specialized. “As we approach these projects, we need to have a completely open mindset and expect the unexpected,” says Alex Munoz, SmithGroup princpal and senior lab planner. “The facilities must be designed with flexible standards that are both highly specialized for current research and capable of being relevant in the future.”

The University of Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center are building the Immune Transplant and Therapy Center in Bloomfield. Developed in partnership with Wexford Science & Technology, the $250 million project involves the transformation of a former Ford assembly plant and showroom into an eight-story innovation hub accommodating research on immunotherapy, cancer, chronic diseases, aging, and transplantation.

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratory (SEL) opened a $20 million R&D facility in February of 2020 in West Lafayette, Ind. Located in Purdue University's Discovery Park District, the three-story, 100,000-sf building offers leading-edge laboratory and support space for electric power research, development, and manufacturing.

Georgia College broke ground in February of 2020 on the $22.1 million Integrated Science Complex in Milledgeville. Designed by Cooper Carry, the 43,000-sf facility will provide flexible research labs, faculty offices, teaching labs, imaging and microscopy suites, collaboration and study spaces, and a botany terrace. The labs will be interconnected by a linear equipment corridor accessible to all science faculty and students.

Construction began in February of 2020 on a 440,000-sf complex for Hewlett Packard Enterprise in Spring, Texas. Developed by a joint venture of Patrinely Group, USAA Real Estate, and CDC Houston, the collaborative campus will include two five-story structures with bridge connectors on each level. The facility will provide core research and development labs, a conference center, offices, a 2,055-space parking garage, a fitness hub, dining amenities, a pharmacy, and a large central courtyard with a multipurpose sports pavilion.

The University of California, Irvine broke ground on a $185 million health sciences complex in February of 2020. Supporting an innovative curriculum based on integrative health, the five-story, 108,200-sf Susan and Henry Samueli College of Health Sciences will adjoin the four-story, 71,500-sf Sue and Bill Gross School of Nursing to create a vibrant nexus for learning, research, and clinical training.

Florida State University dedicated the $65 million Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Science building in February of 2020 in Tallahassee. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson to foster interdisciplinary collaboration, the eight-story, 130,500-sf facility collocates departmental space previously scattered in eight disparate locations. The building provides 23 research labs, eight teaching labs, a 100-seat active-learning classroom, a 280-seat auditorium, a meteorology broadcasting studio, a seismometer suite, student lounges, and a rooftop terrace.