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.
Supplier - Biosafety Cabinets		The Baker Company
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.