Research and Development

The 92,000-sf, three-story GuideWell Innovation Center, located in the heart of the Lake Nona Medical City health and life sciences park in Orlando, Fla., is designed to be the epicenter for the development of new healthcare solutions. The building—which provides space for long-term lease, short-term projects, meetings, and social gatherings—can accommodate wet lab and office uses with an infrastructure that encourages the collaboration necessary to help companies move their ideas from brainstorming to commercialization.

Global consumer electronics company LG Group opened the $3.74 billion LG Science Park in April of 2018 in Seoul, South Korea. Accommodating up to 25,000 employees, the 18-building campus provides 11.9 million sf of flexible research and office space designed to foster collaborative innovation among scientists and staff from multiple disciplines, including nanotechnology, chemistry, fabrication, and life sciences.

The University of Washington broke ground in April of 2018 on the $230 million Population Health Building in Seattle. Designed by The Miller Hull Partnership to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the 290,000-sf facility will house the Department of Global Health, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and a portion of the School of Public Health. The project is being constructed using a Progressive Design-Build (PDB) delivery method with Lease Crutcher Lewis as construction manager.

Louisiana State University opened the 410,000-sf Patrick F. Taylor Hall in April of 2018 in Baton Rouge. Housing the College of Engineering, the $114 million project included construction of the 110,000-sf Chemical Engineering Building Addition and renovation of the existing 300,000-sf structure.

The University at Albany broke ground in April of 2018 on the $180 million Emerging Technology and Entrepreneurship Complex (ETEC) in Albany, N.Y. Designed by CannonDesign to foster collaboration with industry partners, the 245,000-sf facility will house UAlbany’s College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity; the Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences; the Atmospheric Sciences Research Center; and the New York State Mesonet, the nation’s most advanced weather-detection system.

Mercer University dedicated the $44 million Spearman C. Godsey Science Center in April of 2018 in Macon, Ga. Designed by Leo A Daly and Hussey Gay Bell to support collaboration and learning in motion, the four-story, 143,410-sf undergraduate facility provides 60 laboratories, 46 offices, seven lecture rooms, classrooms, and breakout spaces.

Lonza opened a 300,000-sf cell and gene therapy manufacturing center in April of 2018 in Pearland, Texas. The facility features eight independent cGMP modular cleanrooms with single-use bioreactors and a fully segregated fill/finish suite. Supporting the development of new therapies from initial concept through the pre-clinical, clinical, and commercialization phases, the integrated building includes research labs, offices, manufacturing and production spaces, and support.

A new approach to the design of diagnostic labs in resource-constrained settings reduces risk and improves outcomes while accelerating the project timeline and lowering costs. The approach is based on the concept of One Prototype, which uses similar design modules as a starting point for each lab facility, whether new construction or renovation, no matter what the scale.

The University of Utah celebrated the opening of the $55 million Gary & Ann Crocker Science Center in April of 2018 in Salt Lake City. Designed by EDA Architects to promote student-faculty interaction, the four-story STEM facility provides interdisciplinary science labs, 10 flexible classrooms, lecture halls, an atrium, and a business incubator.

Idaho National Laboratory and the Idaho State Board of Education broke ground in April of 2018 on two new research facilities in Idaho Falls. The 80,000-sf Cybercore Integration Center will provide advanced electronics labs where industry, government, and academic partners can engage in collaborative cybersecurity research. The 67,000-sf Collaborative Computing Center (C3) will feature a supercomputer for advanced simulation and modeling operations. The estimated construction cost of both facilities is $75 million.

Purdue University Northwest will break ground in summer of 2018 on the $40.5 million Bioscience Innovation Building in Hammond, Ind. Designed by CannonDesign to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the 68,000-gsf facility will provide advanced instructional labs, collaborative learning rooms, clinical simulation suites, and research labs. Slated for completion in June of 2020, the building will accommodate progressive teaching and research programs for the Department of Biological Sciences and the College of Nursing.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is expanding its campus in Barnard Castle in the United Kingdom with the construction of a $130 million liquid biopharmaceuticals production plant. The 124,000-sf aseptic sterile facility will make injectable liquids for the treatment of respiratory and autoimmune diseases and is slated for completion by November of 2019. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and offsite construction methodologies are being implemented in the delivery of the project, which includes the specification that the building can be replicated anywhere in the world.

Boise State University broke ground on the $50 million Micron Center for Materials Research in April of 2018. Designed by Hummel Architects and Anderson Mason Dale Architects, the four-story, 85,000-sf teaching and research facility will provide over 40 research laboratories, two 80-seat classrooms, a 250-seat lecture hall, and offices and work spaces for faculty, staff, and graduate students.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will invest $80 million to construct a new Centre for Plant Health in Sidney, British Columbia. Replacing the existing 48-building campus, the project will provide advanced quarantine, testing, and diagnostic facilities for the detection and study of plant pathogens. Supporting innovative plant science research programs, the center will enhance the security and economic vitality of Canada's agricultural industry.

The University of Nottingham began construction in March of 2018 on the third phase of the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences (CBS) in the United Kingdom. Located on the University Park Campus, the five-story 65,000-sf facility will provide biomedical research labs for the study of cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory, bone, and liver diseases. Designed by Benoy to promote collaboration by collocating researchers in one purpose-built structure, the center will include pedestrian bridges to the Boots Science Building and the existing CBS complex.