Karp Family Research Laboratories

Known as the Karp Family Research Laboratories, this facility increases the hospital’s research space by more than 60 percent. With a staff of 1,200 scientists and staff this new facility fosters the kind of interaction and collaboration the scientists wanted. The new flexible building with modular laboratories lends itself to evolving research changes.

On the first floor are a public lobby, restaurant, service area, and loading dock. The second floor houses the aquatic and vivarium research labs, while the third floor contains the rodent facilities. This location allows researchers’ access to the animals and minimizes the inconvenience of going between the animals and the research labs.

The remaining nine floors house a variety of labs including endocrinology, genetics, hematology/oncology, developmental biology, immunology, vascular biology, and pathology. Two penthouse floors house the utilities and mechanical systems. Beneath the building, five levels of parking provide 300 spaces.

Three floors of the Karp Laboratories are used by neighboring facilities including Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Joslin Diabetes Center, to expand their own research efforts.

The building is designed around zones of activity. Sixty percent of the building is fixed and is comprised of biology wet labs or specialty science rooms. In the labs, sensitive microscopes, tissue sampling, and research activities are segregated, creating sub-environments within the lab. Most of the cabinetry below the counters can be reconfigured within the labs. All of the utilities enter through the ceiling to provide continuous bands of power, data, and gas over each lab bench. There are also wet sink areas at the end of each aisle and fume hoods distributed strategically throughout the building.

The remaining 40 percent of the building consists of the laboratory support areas, which can be tailored for specific uses. They are organized around a linear equipment corridor, with a flex zone at one end designed to be either office or lab space. There are opportunities for collaboration and interaction in the office zone and along the linear equipment corridor. In addition, there are four “cross corridors” on each floor that encourage movement and interaction between labs, support areas, and office zones. Four atria have panoramas back to the main Hospital and of the Harvard School of Medicine and the surrounding area. Natural light sources, a lounge, kitchen area, and general work areas provide a relaxing work environment.

Project Information

Building Owner:

Children's Hospital of Boston

Building Location:

Boston, Massachusetts UNITED STATES

Project Type:

New Construction

Principal Building Function:

Research

Project Delivery Method:

Construction Management

Project Timeline

Oct 2003	Completion
Last known status: Completed

Project Cost:

$130,000,000

Construction Cost:

$106,000,000

Cost Per Sq. Ft:

$439

About These Cost Figures

Building Information

Project Includes:

Healthcare: Pediatric
Laboratory
Research
Vivarium

Total GSF:

296,000

Project Team

Architect

Tsoi/Kobus & Associates Inc.

Building Envelope Systems

Gordon H. Smith Corporation

Construction Management

John Moriarty & Associates

Consultant - Accoustical

Shen, Milson & Wilke Associates

Consultant - Environmental

Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin, Inc. (RWDI)

Consultant - Fire Protection

R.W. Sullivan, Inc.

Consultant - Lighting

Sylvan R. Schemitz Associates

Consultant - Plumbing

R.W. Sullivan, Inc.

Consultant - Project Management

Murphy & McManus LLC

Consultant - Specifications

Collective Wisdom Corporation

Engineer - Electrical

BR+A/Bard,Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers Inc.

Engineer - Geotechnical

Haley & Aldrich

Engineer - Mechanical

BR+A/Bard,Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers Inc.

Engineer - Structural

McNamara/Salvia, Inc.

Landscape Architect

John Copley & Associates Inc.

Supplier - Biosafety Cabinets

NUAIRE Inc.

Supplier - Biosafety Cabinets

The Baker Company

Supplier - Cage Washers

STERIS Corporation

Supplier - Casework

Fisher Hamilton

Supplier - Fume Hoods

Byrum LabFlex

Supplier - Signage

Two Twelve Associates

Supplier - Sterilizers

STERIS Corporation

Vertical Transportation

LeVee & Associates

Vivarium Planning & Design

GPR Planners Collaborative, Inc.

Profile Created 07/16/2008

Last Updated 07/14/2008

About the Reported Cost Figures

The cost figures reported are supplied by the firms that submitted these projects for publication, which in most cases are the designers or builders. Whereas these sources are intimately familiar with their projects, they may not be fully aware of the owners' finally-realized and recorded costs. In some cases, costs are truly and completely accounted for, and in others they represent a near approximation of the final costs. Costs have not been adjusted for year of construction, nor has any attempt been made to make regional cost adjustments.

Further, costs are not comparable on any kind of detailed standard costing model. Hence, it is possible for the cost of one building to include a steam boiler, while the cost of a comparable building might not include the boiler, if steam is being supplied from an already existing campus grid. Or, in another case, a building might include excess boiler capacity to supply steam to another building. Some submittals include fees or unusual site improvements as part of the construction costs, which others do not.

Fig. 1

Chemistry Lab