The previously under-utilized area also includes a 100,000-sf Commons Building, a 140,000-sf Undergraduate Sciences Building, a 1,000-car parking garage, and a pedestrian bridge connecting the complex to the medical center. A 470,000-sf Biomedical Sciences Research Building is currently under construction across the street. Underneath the parking garage is a one million-gallon water detention basin designed to alleviate much of the storm water runoff from areas that suffered from significant flooding.
The $89-million Institute houses a vivarium on the first level, mechanical space takes up the entire second level, and the third level provides access to the main entrance and the pedestrian walkway. Levels four through six are devoted to research. The molecular and cellular biology spaces are very open labs with few walls and mostly fixed, with some moveable casework. The chemistry spaces have more walls and a different office arrangement with more fixed casework. General floor-to-floor heights are 16 feet, except in the vivarium, which is 20 feet. The interstitial space is a fully walkable deck. The vivarium also contains a BSL-2 containment space, 8,500 rodent cage capacity (housing approximately 40,000 mice), aquatics, and a behavioral testing suite. The transgenic/barrier facility in the vivarium contains an automatic watering and bottle filling system and an automatic bedding waste disposal system.
The lab modules are 10' 8" x 33'. The average dedicated bench length per bench position is 11' 6". There are 8 ½ bench positions available for the 30 primary investigators house in the Institute. Each PI occupies approximately 2,867 nsf (lab-lab support and office) depending on the amount of research space needed. The spaces swell or shrink depending on the amount of research a PI is conducting. Growing research programs receive more space, while research programs generating less revenue occupy less space. Lab support space is available in 114 sf or 228 sf areas. While there are some undergraduate students in the building, the main focus of the occupants is research. Access to the labs is by card key only.
Interaction spaces are designed to give people informal areas for conversation and collaboration. Other common spaces include kitchen and break areas. Casual meeting spaces contain wired and wireless access, marker boards, tack boards, and comfortable seating. The main corridors of each level contain large wooden lockers to hold a researcher’s coat and bag, keeping these items out of the lab. The ghost corridors in the labs contain moveable lab carts, marker boards, and centrally located trash units.
The mechanical exhaust system is located at the perimeter of the roof. Wind studies showed that this placement prevents air entrainment into the make air systems. The exposed equipment maintains the original industrial feel of the area and aligns with the power plant located nearby.
| Project Information | ||||||||||||
| Building Owner: | University of Michigan | |||||||||||
| Building Location: | Ann Arbor, Michigan UNITED STATES | |||||||||||
| Project Type: | New Construction | |||||||||||
| Principal Building Function: | Research | |||||||||||
| Project Delivery Method: | Guaranteed Maximum Price | |||||||||||
| Project Timeline |
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| Project Cost: | $96,000,000 | |||||||||||
| Construction Cost: | $88,600,000 | |||||||||||
| Cost Per Sq. Ft: | $377 | |||||||||||
| About These Cost Figures | ||||||||||||
| Building Information | ||||||||||||
| Project Includes: |
Auditorium Biology Central Power Plant Chemistry Cleanroom Education Education: Biology Education: Chemistry Education: Life Sciences Engineering Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory Laboratory: Chemistry Laboratory: Dry And Wet Laboratory: Research Life Sciences Office: Researcher Parking Structure Research Vivarium |
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| Total GSF: | 235,000 | |||||||||||
| Total NSF: | 148,600 | |||||||||||
| Efficiency: | 63% | |||||||||||
| Building Population: | 352 | |||||||||||
| People Density: | 667 gsf/person | |||||||||||
| Building Services: | Lab Vacuum, Lab Compressed Air, Natural Gas, Gas Nitrogen (selected areas), Liquid Nitrogen dispensing area at floor 2, Reagent Grade II Water | |||||||||||
| Special Equip: | Ventilated Cages, Cage and Rack Washer, Bedding dispenser and Airborne Contaminant Removal, Indexing Tunnel Washer, Vivarium Sterilizer, 16 Cold and 8 Warm Rooms, Laboratory Sterilizers, Glassware Washers and Dryers, Darkroom Equipment | |||||||||||
| Office Size: | 114 or 228 NSF | |||||||||||
| Power Req: | Overall: 21 watts/nsf | |||||||||||
| HVAC Req: | Overall: 2.7 cfm / nsf average Offices and General: 1.1 cfm / nsf Lab / Lab Support: 3.0 cfm / nsf Vivarium: 1.8 cfm / nsf | |||||||||||
| Structure/Foundation: | X-braced steel frame | |||||||||||
| Laboratory Parameters | ||||||||||||
| Lab Module: | 10' 8" x 33' | |||||||||||
| Casework Mat'l: | Open Labs: Fixed metal casework with maple fronts, some movable tables Lab Support: Fixed metal casework Core Facilities: Flexible metal casework | |||||||||||
| Fume Hoods: | 34, 6' Bench-top Chemical Fume Hoods 24, 8' Bench-top Chemical Fume Hoods 2, 6' Walking Chemical Fume Hoods 1, 4' Bench-top Chemical Fume Hood 1, 4' Radio-isotope Fume Hood | |||||||||||
| Biosafety Cabinets: | 16, 4' Class II, Type A2 Bio-safety Cabinets 11, 6' Class II, Type A2 Bio-safety Cabinets 15, 4' Vivarium Change Hoods | |||||||||||
| Project Team | ||||||||||||
| Architect - Design | Venturi, Scott, Brown Architects | |||||||||||
| Architect of Record | SmithGroup | |||||||||||
| Consultant - Laboratory Planner | SmithGroup | |||||||||||
| Consultant - Parking | Desman Associates/PDI | |||||||||||
| Engineer - MEP | SmithGroup | |||||||||||
| Engineer - Civil | Cummins & Barnard Inc. | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Air Handlers | Trane Company | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Building Automation Controls | Siemens Building Technologies | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Cage Washers | STERIS Corporation | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Carpet | Bentley Carpets | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Casework | Fisher Hamilton | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Cold Rooms | Hotpack Corp. | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Darkroom Equipment | Eastman Kodak Co. | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Elevators | Schindler Elevator Corporation | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Emergency Generators | Caterpillar | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Fans | Strobic Air Corporation | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Flooring | VIP Flooring | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Fume Hood Controls | Phoenix Controls Corporation | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Fume Hoods | Fisher Hamilton | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Glasswasher/Dryer | Getinge USA Inc. | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Sterilizers | Getinge USA Inc. | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Tunnel Washers | STERIS Corporation | |||||||||||
| Supplier - Ventilated Cages | Allentown Inc. | |||||||||||
| Vivarium Planning & Design | SmithGroup | |||||||||||
| Profile Created 03/09/2005 | ||||||||||||
| Last Updated 04/04/2006 | ||||||||||||
|
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All Rights Reserved
ISSN: 1096-4894
Interaction Spaces
Informal areas encourage people to have conversations. These areas maximize the potential for horizontal communication increasing the potential of having people across the hall talk to one another. (Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.)
Ventilated Racks
The vivarium contains ventilated racks that allows for less air movement in the building and in the vivarium overall by controlling the air right at the racks with the animals inside. (Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.)
Additional Facilities
Additional facilities inside the viviarium include a BSL-2 suite, a transgenic and/or barrier facility, and a behavioral testing suite. (Photo courtesy of University of Michigan.)
Adaptable and Flexible
The mission of the Life Sciences Institute is to be a hub of collaboration for disciplines like genetics, physiology, molecular and cellular biology, chemistry, mathematics, and engineering. Shown are the molecular and cell biology labs, which are very open and contain few walls.

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