Research and Development

The University of Copenhagen opened Maersk Tower in January of 2018 in Denmark. Designed by C.F. Møller Architects, the 460,000-sf project provides leading-edge teaching and research facilities for the Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences. Housing labs, classrooms, offices, auditoria, meeting rooms, and a conference center, the 16-story tower represents an extension of the Panum complex and features a science plaza at the main entrance linking the existing structures with the new tower.

Boston University's National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL) has received final approval from the Boston Public Health Commission to conduct research at Biosafety Level 4 (BSL-4).  After years of scrutiny by regulatory agencies and city, state, and federal officials, the $200 million laboratory will now be able to work with approved BSL-4 pathogens such as Ebola and Marburg.

Oregon State University is building the $79.5 million Forest Science Complex in Corvallis. The 85,000-sf project includes construction of the 20,000-sf Advanced Wood Building Products Laboratory, which will feature high bay research space, robotic manufacturing systems, and a strong floor for full-scale product testing. Completion is expected in January of 2020. An academic building supporting programs in forestry, wood science, and renewable materials will also be constructed.

Mercedes Medical, a national distributor of laboratory products, will construct its 54,667-sf headquarters in the Lakewood Ranch development in Bradenton, Fla. The $7.5 million building will provide executive offices, a distribution center, and air-conditioned warehouse space. The project was designed by Flad Architects and Stantec and will be built by Halfacre Construction Company. Completion is expected in fall of 2018.

San Diego State University dedicated the $95 million Engineering and Interdisciplinary Sciences Complex in January of 2018. Designed by AC Martin Architects to promote interaction and collaboration, the 85,000-sf project provides 11,500 sf of instructional space and 17 multidisciplinary labs with advanced instrumentation. The five-story facility features a nanofabrication suite, a creative design center, and an entrepreneurship hub.

The University of Washington opened the $87.8 million Nanoengineering & Sciences Building in December of 2017 in Seattle. Designed by ZGF, the 90,300-gsf interdisciplinary facility provides advanced research and teaching spaces for the departments of bioengineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, and materials sciences. Strategically sited and constructed to minimize vibration, the building is located adjacent to the existing Molecular Engineering and Sciences Institute to foster collaboration.

The Boston Society of Architects announced the winners of its 2017 design award in January of 2018.

Georgia State University is planning to construct a $35 million biocontainment research facility in Atlanta. Located on the Downtown campus, the 55,000-sf building will provide BSL-3 and BSL-4 laboratories for the study of infectious diseases and select agents. The project, which will be the first academic BSL-4 facility in the Southeast, will include open research labs, offices, and support space. 

The University of Tennessee is constructing the $118 million Ken and Blaire Mossman Building in Knoxville. Designed by McCarty Holsaple McCarty and Lord Aeck Sargent, the six-story, 222,000-sf facility will accommodate programs in microbiology, psychology, nutrition, biochemistry, and cellular and molecular biology. Offering spaces for both structured and unstructured interaction, the collaborative project includes classrooms ranging from 81 to 126 seats, indoor and outdoor gathering spaces, a 228-seat auditorium, and a café.

The Knight Cancer Institute at the Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) is designed for the researchers of the future: up-and-coming scientists who prefer a streamlined, team approach to research, rather than being trapped by organizational limitations; a collaborative, not leader-driven, environment; and technology-enabled methods and workspaces. The intention is to foster multidisciplinary interaction in flexible spaces, as they pursue innovative solutions for cancer research.

Carleton University opened the CAD$52 million Academic Health Science Building in January of 2018 in Ottawa. Designed by Montgomery Sisam Architects and NXL Architects, the seven-story, 120,000-sf facility provides undergraduate teaching labs, research labs, lecture halls, offices, and study spaces to support neuroscience and health science programs. The project includes two floors of shell space to allow for future growth, as well as an animal research vivarium on the seventh floor that will open later in 2018.

Prism Capital Partners is engaged in the redevelopment of the former Hoffmann-La Roche site in New Jersey to create the ON3 campus. Providing integrated research, office, and recreational facilities, the mixed-use campus currently houses a 73,000-sf laboratory building partially leased by biofabrication firm Modern Meadow, with plans for the construction of an adjacent pilot manufacturing plant under way.

The University of New Mexico opened the renovated Farris Engineering Center in Albuquerque in January of 2018. The $25.5 million project utilized the concrete structural skeleton of the original building that was constructed in 1967 to create a collaborative environment with ample natural light for the departments of chemical and biological engineering, computer science, and nuclear engineering.

Athenex is planning to break ground by April of 2018 on a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Dunkirk, N.Y. Supporting the production of advanced cancer therapies, the 320,000-sf project will include a 281,000-sf building providing manufacturing, research, office, and warehouse space. Completion is expected in 2019. A second phase of development comprising a 39,000-sf expansion is slated for occupancy in 2020. The general contractor for the project is M+W Group and the estimated cost of construction is $210 million.
 

The Francis Crick Institute (informally known as “the Crick”) is one of the world’s largest dedicated biomedical research centers. Its formal agenda is “to discover the basic biology underlying human health, improving the treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of disease, and generating economic opportunities for the UK.” Achieving this agenda has required some unusual architectural strategies, centered on the notion of “discovery without boundaries”—boundaries between scientific disciplines, institutions, laboratories, and individual researchers—which lies at the heart of the Crick’s culture.