One of more than 200 companies within Johnson & Johnson, J&J PRD is focused on small molecule drug discovery, including products dedicated to neuroscience, autoimmune diseases, and inflammatory problems. Teams of biologists and chemists conduct research for the company's worldwide pharmaceutical business units.

Lab Design

The new La Jolla addition includes two floors of adjacent chemistry and biology lab bays that are based on a modular design approach. A lower level includes mechanical rooms and additional open flex lab areas.

"A key feature of the complex is that our biologists and chemists are co-located," says Mark Loukides, head of West Coast Operations for J&J PRD. "Pharmaceutical companies often separate each discipline by buildings or by floors because it is more cost effective for designing the mechanical systems and fire control areas.

"From a scientific perspective, the improved collaboration achieved between the chemists and biologists by working across the hall from each other far outweighs the construction challenges," adds Loukides.

Each floor has a main corridor that is used as both a service route for moving materials, and a pedestrian route. The biology labs are located on the exterior side of the main corridor, and the chemistry labs are directly across the hall on the interior side. Windows in the chemistry labs look into a courtyard, which serves as an interaction area for the two disciplines.

All of the labs have 4-foot aisles rather than the traditional 5-foot aisles. According to Loukides, this decision saved J&J PRD an estimated $1.2 million on the chemistry side alone.

Biology

The biology side includes dedicated lab space, a shared lab area, and offices. The dedicated lab space includes four benches that each accommodate up to four researchers so that a total of 16 people can safely and comfortably work within each lab.

Loukides adds that flexibility is also important for scientists who are sharing lab space. Non-dedicated space is provided for tissue culture hoods, cold boxes, freezers, and centrifuges.

"Since lab requirements change frequently, we recommend using flexible casework where practical," says Loukides. "Instead of fixed casework, we use tables fit out with shelves and cabinets. Personally I do not like wheels on the tables because if the tables or benches are too easy to move there is a greater chance of dislocating equipment and causing other problems."

Chemistry

Similar to the biology side, the new chemistry space includes offices, dedicated lab space, and shared labs. A unique feature used in J&J PRD's chemistry labs is a shared bulk solvent dispensing system, which allows scientists to dispense solvents in small quantities while the solvents are purchased in bulk kegs.

The chemistry labs, configured using a 20' x 22' module, include four fume hoods and bench space for four scientists. Each fume hood includes variable air volume (VAV) and motion sensors.

Loukides recommends that a thorough review of fume hood utilization be conducted to right-size the HVAC system.

"The fume hood utilization study at the La Jolla campus allowed us to downsize the HVAC system by 40 percent," says Loukides.

He also recommends the use of recirculated process water loops instead of cup sinks in the fume hoods and for chemical reactions in the condensers. J&J PRD conserves an estimated six million gallons of water per year at the La Jolla site using this technique.

Cogeneration System

The La Jolla complex also operates a cogeneration system completed under the direction of Duane Kiihne, senior facilities engineer for J&J PRD. The cogeneration system uses natural gas engines to produce the entire site's electrical power.

The system consists of two 16-cylinder natural gas engines and features a state-of-the-art emissions controls system. The waste heat generated from the gas engines reduces energy consumption and carbon dioxide emissions by powering both a 500-ton absorption chiller and building heat.

"The use of cogeneration has eliminated the need to buy a boiler and another emergency generator," says Kiihne. "We can provide power to the entire La Jolla site using cogeneration; the California utility supply is now the redundant system.

"Cogeneration also allowed us to remove the infrastructure of extra circuits and the hidden cost of dedicated panels. We expect to save more than $1 million per year in energy costs and reduce the site's annual carbon dioxide emissions by three million pounds," says Kiihne.

The system, along with other design features, enabled the La Jolla campus to become one of the first United States Green Building Council's LEED™ certified green lab buildings in Southern California and within Johnson & Johnson. Kiihne points to the U.S. Green Building Council's Web site at www.usgbc.org or www.labs21century.gov for more information on LEED™ certification.

An All-Inclusive RFP

"We started this expansion project with an RFP that included a lot of very specific details regarding the expected capabilities of our new mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems," says Loukides. "RFPs are always more effective when they include a high level of detail regarding structural elements, as well as the team's performance expectations."

Loukides adds that spending extra time in the RFP stage ultimately helped J&J PRD save both time and money throughout the project by reducing the number of overall change orders. Other steps that J&J PRD took to ensure a successful project included:

Define Your Project Team

"Once your outside contractors are selected, it is equally as important to take the time to define the roles of your internal team," says Loukides. "A well-defined internal project structure is critical to effective decision-making. It makes it very clear who the go-to people are for each decision."

Loukides explains that J&J PRD did this by identifying key groups, then selecting personnel who were key decision makers for that group and differentiating them from who would be involved in developing the solutions for the area. Others were identified based on their "need to know," but were not part of the decision making process. For example, a human resources representative was part of the lobby design team, the lead chemist served as head of the site's chemistry lab team, and a senior biologist led decisions for the biology labs.

"After we identified the go-to people for each area, we formalized the chain of communication with a diagram that identified all departments, who was responsible for approvals, for input on recommendations, and who needed to be informed of project progress." says Loukides.

Consider Living Mockups

Another tool that J&J PRD used to reduce the number of change orders was living mockups, which involved installing sample sections of the facility to check quality standards before proceeding with final installation.

"The living mockups were unique in that we constructed the mock-up directly in the facility space that we ultimately intend to use," says Loukides. "Rather than setting up the sample off-site, we save costs by being able to keep elements that work well and can reuse them in the final facility, instead of moving or wasting the sample."

One example he cites is the living mockup of lab modules, which included mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components within the lab casework well in advance of when the remaining lab casework was to be fabricated.

"Living mockups really helped us to evaluate the systems, identify value-added changes, and coordinate the timing of work between all of the various subcontracted trades," says Loukides.

Use Web Tools to Track Progress

Loukides also recommends the use of Web-based communication and tracking programs.

"If your internal organization does not have access to Web-based tools, your general contractor or architect will often share these tools electronically," says Loukides.

Recommended tools include:

Lessons Learned

"Since proper staffing is such an important part of your project's success, don't be afraid to replace less experienced people from your team if that lack of experience is jeopardizing your project," says Loukides.

He adds that an ideal project team would always include senior staff members, complemented with enough personnel who are dedicated to the project to ensure its success.

"Although it may cost more upfront to have a larger team and to pay for more senior people for a project of this size, it will pay off in the long run," says Loukides. "It provides the staffing capacity to proactively anticipate and plan for change orders and will allow your team members to keep reasonable weekly hours with the flexibility to increase those hours to respond to crisis and critical path situations."

By Amy Cammell