Apple is planning to build a four-story, 269,000-sf research and development facility in Yokohama, Japan. Constructed on the site of a former Panasonic factory in Tsunashima-higashi, the sustainably designed project will feature highly efficient building systems, water recycling technologies, and a green roof. Construction is expected to commence by the end of 2015 with completion in 2016.
The University of Texas broke ground in February of 2015 on a $20 million expansion of the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) in Austin. Designed by O’Connell Robertson, the 38,000-sf building will include instructional spaces, an auditorium, and student computer labs. The three-story facility is sited adjacent to TACC's existing building on the J.J. Pickle Research Campus and is expected to open in January of 2016.
BluVue announced the release of BluVue Plans 2.0 for iOS and Android in February of 2015. The app allows project teams to have mobile access to current construction plan documents, eliminating the risk of building off of outdated drawings. BluVue Plans also helps construction teams collaborate efficiently on project drawings, giving them the power to view, mark up, and share plans.
Apple is planning to invest $2 billion to develop a global data center headquarters in Mesa, Ariz. The project involves building out an existing 1.3 million-sf manufacturing facility and the completed structure will be powered entirely by sustainable energy sources.
The three-story, 183,000-sf “@4240” building—originally constructed in 1948 as a telephone handset factory—provides flexible tenant solutions, including customized labs for both large- and small-molecule research; dry labs for electronic, medical device, or software research; and modern office space.
Genentech’s custom-built colony management system (CMS) is allowing the organization to dramatically improve efficiency and reduce waste at its massive 150,000-sf vivarium facility east of San Francisco. In its first year of implementation, the system reduced operational inefficiencies by more than 150 percent and saved the organization more than $2 million, while also improving living conditions for mice and empowering husbandry and colony management staff.
The University of Maryland is planning to build the $140 million Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science Innovation in College Park. The facility will provide UMD’s Department of Computer Science and the Institute for Advanced Computer Studies with technology-rich labs and workrooms for the study of artificial intelligence, augmented reality, computer vision, robotics, and virtual reality. Designed to support collaborative learning, the LEED-certified project will include classrooms for the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences.
The University of Alabama is partnering with Lockheed Martin to create a data science research lab. Located at the Culverhouse College of Commerce in Tuscaloosa, the facility will allow students to participate in the development and application of advanced analytics technologies. Still in the design phase, the laboratory will be located in Bidgood Hall and will feature a visualization suite with multiple plasma screens and digital projectors as well as collaboration spaces for small group work.
High-performance core facilities, spurred by proliferating cross-disciplinary investigations and technological advances, can benefit from the long-standing focus on flexibility that has generated so many design efficiencies in the traditional research lab, says Randy Kray, senior vice president and science and technology director of programming and planning at HOK.
Apple has initiated site work for the Apple Campus 2 in Cupertino, Calif. The new headquarters will provide 3.42 million sf of office and R&D facilities on a 176-acre campus designed to accommodate 14,000 employees. The project centerpiece is a four-story, 2.8 million-sf circular building with a glass curtainwall and 700,000 rooftop photovoltaic panels, the construction cost of which is $5 billion. A 120,000-sf auditorium, a 100,000-sf fitness center, 100,000 sf of utility plant space, and parking structures will also be built.
Nova Southeastern University broke ground in February of 2014 on the 215,000-sf Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) in Davie, Fla. The $80 million multidisciplinary facility will house wet labs, an IBM supercomputer research suite, the Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, the Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research, and the Emil Buehler Research Center for Engineering, Science, and Mathematics. The building will also accommodate the General Clinical Research Center, the NSU Technology Incubator, and space for the United States Geological Survey.
Hewlett Packard broke ground on an 89,000-sf R&D facility in Ballybrit in the Republic of Ireland in February of 2014. Designed by Taylor Architects, the building will house 700 employees engaged in software research and the development of cloud computing technologies. The project team includes general contractor M.J. Conroy Group, engineering consultants Arup and RPS, and project manager AECOM. Completion is expected in February of 2015.
The £11 million Higgs Centre for Innovation will be built at the Royal Observatory in Edinburgh, Scotland. Accommodating research in advanced data processing, particle physics, quantum computing, and astronomical instrumentation, the laboratory will be located at the UK Astronomy Technology Centre and will be operated by the Science and Technology Facilities Council. Designed to foster collaboration with the private sector, the Higgs Centre will house leasable space for up to 12 industry partners. Occupancy is expected in 2016.
IBM opened a 21,000-sf commercial technology R&D facility in Nairobi in November of 2013. The lab will house researchers leveraging powerful analytical tools, such as cognitive computing systems, to develop solutions to Africa's unique challenges for energy, healthcare, agriculture, water, transportation, and public safety. The facility is located at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa and features a dynamic cloud-enabled computing hub.
The National Emerging Infectious Diseases Laboratories (NEIDL), on Boston University’s Medical Campus, is maximizing secure wireless networks and private cloud computing to improve safety, operational efficiency, and energy consumption. The seven-story building—which contains BSL-2, BSL-3, and BSL-4 facilities—features a dedicated data center, virtualized servers, extensive use of thin clients, and a secure wireless network providing voice-over-IP (VoIP) communications that cover more than 90 percent of the interior.
