Research Laboratory Facility

Using a fast-track development process, and cutting time in five areas: approvals and permitting; project delivery; decision making; customization; and budget management, the $125-million building was completed in just 30 months from concept to occupancy.

The core structure provides more than 100,000 sf of research space. The faculty and research staff are within close proximity to the Medical School, other research labs, and the Medical Center. Meeting space, dining facilities, and a central animal facility in the new building serve researchers from other campus locations and allow the new research building to integrate the entire UMMS research community.

The main floor entrance includes a three-story atrium space, a 170-person dining facility, and the vivarium. The remaining nine floors house the laboratories and support and office space, and are configured to meet the needs of a wide and changing variety of individual lab functions. More than 270' of lab space align the west side of the building with smaller research spaces at the north and south ends. Principal investigator offices are located along the east side of the building, providing both daylight and separation from the lab zone. Research and ?core? labs are located in the center of the floor plate, and include x-ray crystallography, flow cytometry, and DNA sequencing space. Each research laboratory floor also has a 40-seat conference room, mail/copy space, and two break areas.

An open laboratory layout encourages collaboration and interaction among the 150 researchers who currently occupy the building. Each floor contains 18 lab modules, accommodating up to eight people per module. A row of lab support alcoves is located along a linear equipment room (LER), providing individually customized space for support functions such as tissue culture, analytical equipment, or refrigerators. The lab space includes bench and desk space in an open lab layout without intermediate walls. All benches are moveable on casters and are height-adjustable. The utilities are provided on fixed umbilicals hung from the ceiling. Fixed sink units are separate from the bench, located along the LER, reinforcing the ability to modify the bench area. There are approximately seven fume hoods per floor with the mechanical-system capacity to accommodate several more units.

The nine conference rooms accommodate approximately 40 people per room. The central conference room contains motorized projection screens, blackout shades, and sun control shades, and all conference rooms are equipped with complete network and Internet access. The conference rooms are available for team meetings and research seminars.

A 30,000-sf vivarium supports the research programs in the new building. This new transgenic mouse barrier facility is designed as part of a master plan to expand animal programs at UMMS. The new facility contains six suites, each containing six holding rooms and two procedure rooms. Located on the ground floor, it has a dedicated air-handling system separate from the lab systems. Cage washing operations are automated with loading and unloading robots serving two indexing tunnel washers, and a vacuum bedding dispensing and removal system.

A $2-million grant from the National Center for Research, an arm of the National Institutes of Health, allows UMMS to outfit and equip laboratories to house the Program in Gene Function and Expression. The program focuses on the molecular and genetic basis of human disease, particularly cancer, as well as the mechanisms that relate to how disease-related genes are expressed.

Other research departments and programs in the building include the Department of Medicine; the Cancer Center; the Department of Neurobiology; and the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology. The laboratories are used solely by the Medical School for research. There are no patient care services in the building.

Project Information

Building Owner:

University of Massachusetts Medical School

Owner Contact:

Tim Fitzpatrick, Director of Facilities

Building Location:

Worcester, Mass. UNITED STATES

Project Type:

New Construction

Principal Building Function:

Basic Research Programs

Project Delivery Method:

Fast Track

Project Timeline

Feb 1999	Planning Start
Jun 1999	Design Start
Nov 1999	Construction Start
Aug 2001	Completion
Last known status: Completed

Project Cost:

$125,000,000

Construction Cost:

$105,000,000

Cost Per Sq. Ft:

$291

About These Cost Figures

Building Information

Project Includes:

Education
Healthcare: Cancer Center
Healthcare: Medical School
Laboratory: Biomedical Research
Laboratory: Research
Research: Pharmaceutical
Vivarium

Total GSF:

360,000

Total NSF:

229,000

Efficiency:

63%

Building Population:

1000

People Density:

360 gsf/person

Building Services:

Compressed air, Vacuum, Natural gas, Nitrogen, RO, CO2,Emergency power

Special Equip:

Indexing tunnel washer with robots; Rack washer; Sterilizer; Bedding disposal and dispensing system

Office Size:

120 NSF

Power Req:

Design 15 watts/nsf for laboratories

HVAC Req:

Average 1.7 cfm/nsf (2.0 cfm/nsf for labs only)

Structure/Foundation:

Braced-frame steel with concrete spread footings

Laboratory Parameters

Lab Module:

21' on center x 33'-6

Casework Mat'l:

Lab casework: Epoxy countertops on maple cabinets; Epoxy moveable tables with moveable maple cabinets below Vivarium casework: Stainless steel countertops Architectural millwork: Plastic laminate countertops; Solid surface countertops; Corian countertops

Fume Hoods:

1 @ 4'; 84 @ 5'; 24 @ 6'

Biosafety Cabinets:

7 NU-430-600 6' Class II, Type B2; 2 NU-460-400 4' Class II, Type B2; 1 NU-610 PTBSC/B3 Class II, Type B3; 7 NU-425-400 4' Class II, Type B3

Project Team

Architect

Tsoi/Kobus & Associates Inc.

Building Envelope Systems

Gordon H. Smith Corporation

Construction Management

Beacon Skanska

Consultant - Accoustical

Acentech Incorporated

Consultant - Civil Engineer

Cullinan Engineering Co., Inc.

Consultant - Code

R.W. Sullivan, Inc.

Consultant - Environmental

Rowan Williams Davies & Irwin, Inc. (RWDI)

Consultant - Landscape Architect

Strata Design Associates Inc.

Consultant - Lighting

Schweppe Lighting Design

Consultant - MEP Engineer

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

Consultant - Specifications

Collective Wisdom Corporation

Consultant - Structural Engineer

LeMessurier Consultants Inc.

Engineer - Geotechnical

GZA GeoEnvironmental Inc.

Engineer - Geotechnical

Vanasse Hagen Brustlin Inc.

Laboratory Planner

GPR Planners Collaborative, Inc.

Supplier - Access System

Galaxy Control Systems

Supplier - Biosafety Cabinets

The Baker Company

Supplier - Building Automation Controls

Siemens Building Technologies

Supplier - Carpet

Lees Carpets

Supplier - Casework

The Valley City Manufacturing Company

Supplier - Elevators

Otis Elevator

Supplier - Environmental Enclosures

Harris Environmental Systems

Supplier - Fume Hood Controls

Siemens Building Technologies

Supplier - Glasswasher/Dryer

Getinge USA Inc.

Supplier - Sterilizers

Getinge USA Inc.

Vertical Transportation

LeVee & Associates

Profile Created 01/16/2002

Last Updated 04/04/2006

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

Main Floor Entrance

Fig. 2

Open Lab Layout