Research and Development

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.

Seattle University is planning to begin construction in June of 2019 on the 110,000-sf Center for Science and Innovation. Designed by EYP, the four-story facility will provide laboratories and collaboration spaces for the College of Science and Engineering, as well as space for the Albers School of Business and Economics.

The University of West Florida broke ground in January of 2018 on the $26.3 million Laboratory Sciences Annex in Pensacola. Connecting to the existing Life Sciences Laboratory, the 52,790-sf facility will provide the Hal Marcus College of Science and Engineering with additional classrooms and 12 teaching labs for biology and chemistry. The project was designed by Perkins+Will and Caldwell Associates to support the growth of STEM programs in science, technology, enginering, and mathematics.

Louisiana State University will open the $18 million Center for River Studies in Baton Rouge in February of 2018. Located on the Water Campus, the 45,500-sf facility will be a comprehensive, integrated physical modeling center that will serve both as a research hub for study of the lower Mississippi River and as an educational facility. Created in partnership with the Coastal Protection Restoration Authority, the facility was designed by Mougeot Architecture and built by Stuart & Co.

Mass Innovation Labs, a provider of life science research space solutions, signed a ground lease in December of 2017 for 54,0000 sf at Innovation Square Seaport (iSQ) in Boston. Located in the Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park, the 375,000-sf iSQ campus is being built by Related Beal, a real estate developer, owner, and operator. Mass Innovation Labs will anchor the first two floors of the multi-tenant facility, which will include coworking spaces and a collaboration center.

The Wuhan Institute of Virology began operations in its BSL-4 laboratories in January of 2018. Supporting research on infectious diseases and select agents, the biocontainment facility will enable scientists to develop innovative strategies for the detection and mitigation of pathogenic threats. Construction began on the facility in 2011 with trial operations beginning in 2015.

The University of Cambridge is planning to construct the £300 million Cavendish III Laboratory in the United Kingdom. Designed by Jestico + Whiles with Ramboll as engineering consultant, the facility will provide the department of physics with advanced research facilities including cleanrooms, cryostat halls, microscopy suites, and laser and optical labs. A basement level with sophisticated vibration mitigation technologies will accommodate sensitive instrumentation.

Indiana University opened the $40 million Luddy Hall in Bloomington in January of 2018. Designed by RATIO Architects and Pelli Clarke Pelli, the collaborative teaching and research facility provides the School of Informatics and Computing with labs, classrooms, faculty and staff offices, conference rooms, a café, an auditorium, and space for student services. Housing the Intelligent Systems Engineering department, the four-story, 125,000-sf building also includes a 1,500-sf fabrication lab and a 3,500-sf innovation center.

Chicago’s newly opened Shirley Ryan AbilityLab is the world’s first translational research hospital where scientists, engineers, technologists, and clinicians work collaboratively with thousands of patients going through intensive post-traumatic and disease-related functional rehabilitation. This unique integrated model dramatically shortens the amount of time between research innovations and practical clinical applications.

Michigan State University is planning a $35 million expansion of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB) in East Lansing. Space for a new spectrometer detector will be constructed, as well as an isotope harvesting building. Civil construction of the $730 million, 227,000-sf FRIB reached substantial completion in December of 2017, with installation of instrumentation ongoing until early 2021. 

Techtronic Industries, a manufacturer of power tools and construction equipment, is planning to build a 370,000-sf innovation center in Piercetown, S.C. Slated for occupancy in early 2019, the four-story project will provide corporate offices and engineering suites. An outdoor research and development lab for product testing in different weather conditions is currently under construction at the site and will reach completion in February of 2018.

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The University of Kansas is constructing the Integrated Sciences Building in Lawrence. Designed by Perkins+Will to maximize undergraduate engagement with faculty and researchers, the 280,000-sf interdisciplinary facility will provide active learning classrooms, teaching labs, and flexible research labs for programs in chemistry, medicinal chemistry, physics, and molecular biosciences. Utilizing internal and external glass to put science on display, the project will include an auditorium, core imaging labs, cleanroom suites, and collaboration spaces.

The University of Washington is constructing the $110 million Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering in Seattle. Designed by LMN Architects to foster interaction and collaboration, the 135,000-sf facility will feature a 3,000-sf robotics lab, a 250-seat auditorium, a maker space, an undergraduate commons, and a wet lab. The building will also house capstone project rooms, teaching labs, classrooms, faculty offices, and a flexible event hall.