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		Sep 1999 Planning Start Jan 2000 Design Start Sep 2000 Construction Start Sep 2003 Completion Last known status: Completed
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
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
Supplier - Casework		Fisher Hamilton
Supplier - Fans		Strobic Air Corporation
Supplier - Fume Hood Controls		Phoenix Controls Corporation
Supplier - Fume Hoods		Fisher Hamilton
Supplier - Ventilated Cages		Allentown Inc.
Profile Created 03/09/2005
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.