The 330,000-gsf building, designed to maximize the mix of research disciplines under one roof, is one of the largest projects ever undertaken by the University. Housing 50 research groups and more than 500 scientists, technicians, graduate students, and support staff, research areas include drug discovery and vaccine development; computational, developmental, and structural biology; and neuroscience. BST 3 also houses one of only nine Regional Biocontainment Laboratories (RBL) in the United States.

The 10-story structure features an open and modular lab design that provides maximum flexibility with minimal renovation costs. A typical lab bay consists of two 6-foot lab bench sections and two 4-foot workstations. The lab benches are completely moveable and can be placed anywhere in the open lab or removed entirely. Casework on casters adds to the flexibility and adaptability of the open lab. Sinks are the only permanent lab fixture. Electricity, data, vacuum, and up to three other plumbed services are available to each lab bench. For utilities, quick-disconnect tubing attaches to ceiling service panels. Write-up spaces are located along the perimeter of the open labs taking full advantage of the natural light. Researchers also have access to procedure rooms, fume hood alcoves, and equipment alcoves. In order to maximize the square footage available, open lab spaces are accessed via equipment corridors or spaces where large floor-mounted equipment, such as freezers are located.

The basement alone houses five magnets: one each 800 MHz, and 750 MHz NMR spectrometers; and two 600-MHz 54 mm bore and one 600 MHz 80 mm bore spectrometers. Also included in the basement is a cryogenically cooled electron microscope suite with three platforms. To accommodate these highly sensitive spectrometers basement has a floor-to-floor height of 25 feet and is constructed of non-ferrous materials including wood, aluminum, and non-magnetic rebar in the concrete. The floor-to-floor height and the positioning of the NMR instruments on isolated slabs that are tied to bedrock helps to isolate vibrations from the first floor and the street level.

Additional magnetic instruments throughout the building include another 600-MHz 54 mm bore NMR, a 7-Tesla MRI, and a 12-Tesla Fourier Transform mass spectrometer. Other research areas include a 40,000-sf vivarium, 20,000-sf ABSL-3, 10,000 separate tanks containing the world’s largest zebra fish colony, and a 1,800-sf BSL-3 lab.

Designed to nurture scientific collaboration and interaction, each floor contains two informal break areas with access to power and data at a fixed central table or coffee bar. Each office cluster within the labs features a conference room that opens to a kitchenette. Several larger seminar rooms throughout the building provide space for lectures, presentations, or social events. Glass stair towers and elevators on either side of the building are adjacent to the common break areas, increasing the opportunities for informal exchange between the researchers.

Also housed in the tower is the Center for Vaccine Research (CVR). This $28-million facility holds both the Vaccine Research Laboratory and the Regional Biocontainment Laboratory. It is the second vaccine research facility to open and is one of only 13 facilities of its kind in the nation. Scientists at the CVR will conduct research for vaccines against diseases that can be used as a weapon for bioterrorism, and for vaccines against diseases such as tuberculosis, West Nile virus, Dengue fever, and SARS.

Project Information
Building Owner:		University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Building Location:		Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania UNITED STATES
Project Type:		New Construction
Principal Building Function:		Biomedical research
Project Delivery Method:		Construction Management
Project Timeline		Dec 2001 Planning Start Jan 2002 Design Start Mar 2003 Construction Start Oct 2005 Completion Last known status: Completed
Project Cost:		$188,000,000
Construction Cost:		$121,000,000
Cost Per Sq. Ft:		$366
		About These Cost Figures
Building Information
Project Includes:		Biocontainment Chemistry Education Education: Faculty Office Healthcare Healthcare: Medical School Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory Laboratory: Research Laboratory: Teaching Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Research Research: Biomedical Vivarium
Total GSF:		330,000
Project Team
Supplier - Biosafety Cabinets		NUAIRE Inc.
Profile Created 11/02/2005
Last Updated 10/17/2007
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.