Research and Development

EMD Serono is planning to construct a $70 million R&D facility on its existing campus in Billerica, Mass. Supporting research programs in oncology, immuno-oncology, and immunology, the 145,000-sf building will accommodate wet labs, offices, collaboration spaces, and a cafeteria. Designed to attain LEED and WELL certification, the project will provide a healthy and sustainable environment for approximately 400 employees. Completion is expected in 2021. EMD Serono is the biopharmaceutical business of Merck KGaA, based in Darmstadt, Germany.

The University of Arkansas will begin construction in mid-2019 on the $10.3 million Civil Engineering Research and Education Center in Fayetteville. Designed by TreanorHL Architects and DEMX Architecture, the 37,400-sf project will offer sophisticated research spaces including a high-bay lab for the testing of structures and materials.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is planning to build a $33 million R&D facility for the creation of technologies for Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB) in Kamakura, Japan. The project will accelerate the company’s development, evaluation, and demonstration of ZEB technologies to meet the growing demand for buildings that combine comfort and superior energy savings. Mitsubishi Electric’s ZEB technologies are part of the company’s wide-ranging effort to help achieve the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The University of Colorado broke ground in late January of 2019 on the $176 million Anschutz Health Sciences Building in Aurora. Designed by ZGF Architects and Anderson Mason Dale Architects, the seven-story, 390,00-sf facility will provide computational laboratories, classrooms, mental and behavioral health research clinics, a medical simulation training hub, faculty offices, and space for clinical trials.

The International Microbiome Centre (IMC) at the University of Calgary houses one of the largest germ-free facilities in the world and the only one that has incorporated intra-vital imaging. Constructed in a portion of the basement at the Cumming School of Medicine, the germ-free facility complements the other microbiome platforms—including mass cytometry, genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, bioinformatics, biobanking, and live cell imaging—by providing a model system in which to study the microbiome. The center provides a sterilized housing environment, where researchers explore the microbiome and its impact through adding bacteria to germ-free models and analyzing what those bacteria do to the animals’ immune systems, organs, and overall health.

Rice University is planning to renovate a former Sears building in Houston to create a 270,000-sf innovation center called The Ion. Providing event spaces, meeting rooms, and business incubation suites, the collaborative facility will support data science research initiatives and the development of new digital technologies. The complex, which will include dining and entertainment amenities, will host public programs including entrepreneurial workshops, networking sessions, training courses, and industry lectures.

Catalent is initiating an expansion of its biologics manufacturing operations. The global biotechnology company will construct a 60,000-sf facility on its existing campus in Madison, Wis. The project is slated for completion by 2021 and represents an investment of $100 million over the next three years. Catalent will also invest $100 million to increase its manufacturing capacity in Bloomington, Ind.

The National University of Singapore opened the six-story, 92,000-sf Net-Zero Energy Building in January of 2019. Providing design studios, teaching and research space, and common areas for the School of Design and Environment, SDE4 is the first new-build, net-zero facility in Singapore. WELL certification will be sought for the project, which features a rooftop solar farm with 1225 panels, a hybrid cooling system, and a narrow floorplate to optimize passive ventilation and natural lighting.

Stellenbosch University began construction in January of 2019 on the $75 million Biomedical Research Institute in Cape Town, South Africa. Providing leading-edge research facilities for the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, the integrated complex will include a bioinformatics hub, a clinical research unit, a biorepository, conference rooms, and labs for proteomics, electron microscopy, and flow cytometry.

Masonic Medical Research Institute is constructing a large-animal research facility in its existing building in Utica, N.Y. The $15 million project includes the renovation of a 5,500-sf basement to provide lab space for five investigators and a procedural suite for studies on pigs, sheep, goats, and rabbits. The investment will also support the recruitment of up to 30 new employees.

Colorado State University opened the $19.5 million Nancy Richardson Design Center in January of 2019 in Fort Collins. Designed by OZ Architecture and Salt Design, the collaborative 45,000-sf facility provides a two-story atrium, design studios, technology-rich fabrication and prototyping labs, presentation spaces, classrooms, computer labs, a café, and several outdoor venues.

The Integrated Research and Innovation Center (IRIC) at the University of Idaho houses more than 20 grant-funded teams of faculty and graduate and undergraduate researchers, representing every college at the university, who collaborate on cross-department research in the hard sciences, social sciences, and humanities. No one “owns” any space in the building; instead, teams rotate in and out of the facility based on project lifespan, from a few months to several years, requiring a flexible and adaptable design.

Ohio State University began construction in January of 2019 on the $59 million Biomedical and Materials Engineering Complex in Columbus. Featuring interactive laboratories for experiential learning, the five-story, 124,000-sf facility will provide an atrium, a 150-seat auditorium, two undergraduate computer labs, five classrooms, and open lab neighborhoods for faculty and graduate research.

Pacific Northwest National Lab is planning to build a $90 million energy sciences research building in Richland, Wash. Designed by Kirksey Architecture, the collaborative facility will provide between 110,000 and 145,000 sf of flexible lab and office space to support fundamental research in chemistry, materials science, and computing. Accommodating advanced instrumentation including next-generation NMR and electron microscopy devices, the project will enable the development of new energy and transportation technologies.

College of the Atlantic will begin construction in spring of 2019 on the $13 million Center for Human Ecology in Bar Harbor, Maine. Designed by GO Logic and Susan T. Rodriguez to accommodate the school's unique interdisciplinary curriculum, the two-story, 29,000-sf building will provide science labs, flexible lecture halls, faculty offices, art and design studios, and a teaching greenhouse.