3M Co. is planning to construct a 272,000-sf campus in Austin, Texas. Designed by STG Design and developed by Trammell Crow, the state-of-the-art facility will replace operations currently located in northeast Austin. Sited in the Parmer business park, the project will accommodate approximately 800 employees engaged in R&D, supply chain management, and marketing. Construction will begin on the facility by late 2017 with completion expected by April of 2019.
Metropolitan State University of Denver opened the $60 million Aerospace and Engineering Sciences Building in June of 2017. Featuring collaborative learning spaces, technology-rich labs, and a public-private enterprise center, the 117,000-sf facility will support an interdisciplinary curriculum integrating aerospace science, industrial design, computer science, information technology, and civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering.
Merrick & Company will support the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate in the development of operational planning, IT infrastructure, biorepository transfer, and acquisition of future contracts for stand-up and operation of the new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF) now under construction in Manhattan, Kansas.
Eli Lilly completed a $90 million expansion of its San Diego biotechnology center in June of 2017. The 180,000-sf facility features the Life Science studio, a technology-rich laboratory suite supporting advanced drug discovery and development. Promoting global collaboration and innovation in the design, synthesis, and screening of molecules, the center will accommodate research in immunology, diabetes, oncology, and neurodegeneration.
The University of Hawai’i at Mānoa will begin construction in late 2017 on the $50 million Life Sciences Building in Honolulu. Designed to promote interdisciplinary collaboration, the four-story, 45,000-sf facility will provide the College of Natural Sciences with classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, lab support spaces, and offices. Accommodating the departments of biology, microbiology, and botany, the building will also house the Pacific Biosciences Research Center and the Biological Electron Microscope Facility.
Pfizer broke ground in June of 2017 on a $200 million research and development facility in Chesterfield, Mo. Housing the BioTherapeutics Pharmaceutical Sciences group, the 295,000-sf project will enable the advancement of Pfizer’s biologics, vaccines, and gene therapy portfolio. Designed by Forum and EwingCole, the facility will feature flexible laboratories, open offices, and collaboration spaces with advanced conferencing technologies.
The Huntsman Cancer Institute opened the $173 million Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center in June of 2017 in Salt Lake City. Providing advanced genetic sequencing technologies, the six-story, 242,000-sf facility houses biomedical laboratories, space for clinical trials, administrative offices, and a vivarium. The center was designed by Architectural Nexus with Jacobsen Construction as general contractor. The Huntsman Cancer Institute is part of the University of Utah.
The United States Department of Agriculture’s annual summary report on animal welfare has revealed that the number of animals used in biomedical research rose by seven percent in 2016, from 767,622 in 2015 to 820,812. However, the number of animals held but not used in research decreased by 69 percent from 445,972 in 2015 to 137,444.
Texas A&M University broke ground in June of 2017 on the $70 million headquarters of the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI). Located on the RELLIS campus in Bryan, the 190,000-sf facility will provide advanced engineering research facilities for the creation of transportation technologies and strategies for the optimization of infrastructure, construction materials, driver safety, and automated vehicles. The building will include a single-story research wing with a vehicle simulator lab, a three-story conference wing, and a multi-story tower.
Merrick & Company has launched an independent forum to advance the issues of biosafety and biosecurity in the laboratory and in the field. The Merrick Biosafety and Biosecurity Consulting Advisory Board (BS&S CAB) will provide clients and associates with direct access to experts and publications in the fields of biosafety, biosecurity, threat management, public policy, developing technologies, and international issues.
The University of Kansas is engaged in a $4 million renovation project to create the National Security Laboratory in Lawrence. Sited on the basement level of the Bioscience and Technology Business Center on the West Campus, the 7,000-sf facility will support collaborative research with the Department of Defense and other government agencies on radar, remote sensing, unmanned aerial vehicles, signal processing, and sensors. The secure laboratory will accommodate up to 40 employees and is expected to open in spring of 2018.
The Province of Alberta will begin construction in fall of 2017 on the $1.4 billion Calgary Cancer Centre. Designed by Stantec and DIALOG, the project will provide over two million square feet of space for research, treatment, and educational services. The facility will offer 160 inpatient beds, 15 radiation vaults, outpatient clinics, research labs, a clinical trials unit, and a 1,650-stall underground parking garage. The construction manager for the design-build project is PCL Construction.
The University of Colorado will begin construction in July of 2018 on the $61.4 million William J. Hybl Sports Medicine and Performance Center in Colorado Springs. Created in partnership with Penrose-St. Francis Health Services, an affiliate of Centura Health, the 104,000-sf facility will provide classrooms, research labs, and clinics for sports medicine, imaging, pain management, athletic training, and physical and occupational therapy.
The University of Texas at San Antonio broke ground on the $95 million Science and Engineering Building in June of 2017. Designed by TreanorHL and Alamo Architects to promote interaction and collaboration, the multidisciplinary facility will provide research labs, teaching labs, active learning classrooms, and faculty offices to support programs in chemistry, biology, chemical engineering, and neurology.
All lab work—experiments, equipment usage, write-ups—occurs on countertops, but these flat horizontal surfaces are rapidly changing. “Today, lab work surfaces need to be adaptable, flexible, ergonomic, mobile, reconfigurable, versatile, sustainable, design-oriented, aesthetically pleasing, cost-effective, and easy to install,” says Arnulf Penker, president of FunderMax, a designer and producer of wood-based materials and compact laminates in St. Veit an der Glan, Austria.
