Research and Development

Boston College is planning to build a $150 million science center in Chestnut Hill, Mass. Housing the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society, the 150,000-sf facility will support programs in applied sciences, engineering, design, global public health, and computer and data sciences. Designed to promote innovation, the interdisciplinary building will feature makerspaces, research labs, a cleanroom, a collaboration commons, and technology-rich teaching labs for robotics, computing, and data visualization.

The Chemours Company, a specialty chemical manufacturer, will begin construction in January of 2018 on the $150 million Discovery Hub in Newark, Del. Supporting collaborative research, commercialization, and training initiatives, the four-story, 312,000-sf facility will be located on the University of Delaware’s Science, Technology, and Advanced Research (STAR) Campus. The Discovery Hub will provide 100 labs, 20 huddle rooms, 50 specialty rooms, conference spaces, and cafés. Completion is expected in early 2020.

The California Air Resources Board broke ground in late October of 2017 on its $419 million headquarters in Riverside. The facility will support advanced vehicle emissions testing and research with diagnostic suites, test cells, a chemistry lab, administrative offices, a 250-person auditorium, and a conference room. LEED Platinum sustainable design certification will be sought for the project, which will be one of the largest net-zero energy buildings in the United States. Construction will begin in February of 2017.

The University of Massachusetts Amherst is constructing the $102 million Physical Sciences Building. Designed by Wilson Architects to promote collaboration, the 79,500-gsf facility will accommodate 20 faculty members and 130 bench positions for the departments of physics and chemistry. Comprising two stories above ground and a basement level, the building will provide conference rooms, faculty offices, laboratories, and high bay spaces with vibration mitigation technologies.

Toyota opened the $80 million Production Engineering and Manufacturing Center in late October of 2017. Accommodating over 600 engineers and 200 support staff, the 235,000-sf facility offers 3D printing technologies, augmented and virtual reality suites, and the TILT lab, an experimental engineering hub for problem solving and innovation. Designed to attain LEED Platinum sustainable design certification, the center utilizes a geothermal HVAC system, photovoltaic panels, and natural lighting.

The University of California, Riverside is constructing the $150 million Multidisciplinary Research Building 1 (MRB1). Designed by SmithGroupJJR, the five-story, 179,000-sf facility will provide collaborative wet, dry, and computational laboratories to accommodate up to 56 researchers and their teams. The project will include offices, conference rooms, BSL-2 labs, core research space, and a barrier vivarium with animal holding areas, procedure rooms, and support.

The University of Colorado Boulder broke ground in October of 2017 on an $82.5 million aerospace engineering building. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht (HCM) and Ratio Architects, the collaborative 144,000-sf project will provide reconfigurable open research labs, interactive learning spaces, faculty offices, workshops, a 200-seat auditorium, and an indoor flight environment for unmanned aircraft. Whiting-Turner is the general contractor and occupancy is expected in summer of 2019.

The University of Oregon broke ground in March of 2018 on the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact in Eugene. Designed by Ennead Architects and Bora Architects, the first phase of construction will include a $225 million, 160,000-sf facility providing interdisciplinary laboratories for biomedical research, collaboration areas, and public spaces. Completion is expected in early 2020.

Pfizer’s pharmaceutical factory in Dalian, China, has attained LEED-NC Platinum sustainable design certification. The project, which involved a 140,000-sf expansion to accommodate an aseptic workshop for cephalosporin products, began construction in 2014 and reached completion in April of 2017.  As the chosen strategic partner for the project, Johnson Controls was involved throughout the design and construction process and provided building controls systems and lifecycle green building certification consulting services.

University of Texas Health San Antonio broke ground in October of 2017 on the $70 million Barshop Institute for Longevity & Aging Studies. Promoting the integration of research with clinical care, the project will accelerate the translation of medical discoveries into new therapies for patient treatment. Designed by Alamo Architects, the three-story, 108,000-sf building will provide open research labs, lab support, administrative and faculty offices, and a vivarium.

The University of California, Santa Barbara opened the $86 million BioEngineering Building in October of 2017. Designed by Moore Ruble Yudell Architects to promote cross-disciplinary collaboration, the three-story, 45,000-sf facility provides 17,200 sf of open lab space, a 100-seat auditorium, an atrium, and offices for faculty, graduate students, and administrative staff.

Mayo Clinic is partnering with United Therapeutics to build a $41 million lung restoration center in Jacksonville, Fla. Located on Mayo’s Southside campus, the three-story, 75,000-sf facility will support the optimization of lungs destined for transplantation, as well as providing offices, conference rooms, and biomedical research space. Whiting-Turner will begin construction on the project in late 2017 with occupancy expected in spring of 2019. 

Rutgers University–Newark opened the $59 million Life Sciences Center II in October of 2017. The five-story, 85,000-sf interdisciplinary facility connects three existing science buildings and features teaching labs, research labs, and a technology-rich lecture hall for active learning that can accommodate 100 students. Suites for imaging and electron microscopy are located below grade. 

The University of Ottawa is building the CAD$115 million Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Complex. Designed by Perkins+Will Canada, the 312,000-sf facility will feature open-plan teaching labs, a dedicated prototyping center, makerspaces with 3D printers, and an entrepreneurship hub. The project team includes general contractor PCL Construction, project manager CBRE, mechanical/electrical engineer Bouthillette Parizeau, and structural engineer Cleland Jardine.

Colorado State University celebrated the opening of the $56.4 million Chemistry Research Building in Fort Collins in October of 2017. Designed by Hord Coplan Macht and Ratio Architects, the four-story, 60,000-sf facility provides 11 faculty research areas in a collaborative open environment with an abundance of fume hoods. The laboratory design consultant for the building was Research Facilities Design (RFD).