The $60-million BRC, which is actually two adjoining buildings with a total of 227,000 sf, is located at the Health Sciences Center on the University’s campus in Oklahoma City. The OUHSC is a grouping of seven health-related colleges associated with three OU Medical Center teaching hospitals located in a 15-block area within the larger 300-acre Oklahoma Health Center complex.

The OUHSC serves as the state's training center for biomedical scientists, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and dentists, as well as allied and public health professionals. Being located in the heart of the biomedical hub is ideal for the BRC, which focuses on basic science research involving the biomedical sciences, genomics, proteomics, and cancer. Project planning began in 1990 for Phase I, also known as BRC North, and construction of the 105,000-sf facility was completed in September 1997. Construction for Phase II, the 122,000-sf BRC West building, began in October 2003 with completion in June 2005.

During the 15 years, University leadership remained relatively consistent with two presidents, three senior vice presidents/provosts, five vice presidents for research, one campus architect, and one director of capital planning.

"There was very little turnover and that was a key to our success," says Tom Godkins, associate vice president for facilities management and director of capital planning for the OUHSC.

Learning from Experience

When University planners decided to construct the BRC, they embarked on a learning experience to gather as much knowledge as possible about building a center suitable for its researchers. Laboratory consultant Richard Rietz was engaged to assist the administration in the management of the project, to develop the program, and to ensure the programming was correctly translated into design.

Requests for Proposals were sent to 100 architectural and engineering firms throughout the United States and Canada. The top five firms were asked to submit information about the best biomedical facilities they had designed within the last five years. University officials met with the senior administration and director of physical plant at these facilities to determine what type of impression had been left by the architectural and engineering firms.

Touring research centers from coast to coast presented a wonderful opportunity to view design features that were successful at other biomedical facilities. Features integrated into BRC North include a two-corridor racetrack design; windows in the outbound labs; windows in the offices of the principal investigators; inbound lab support with cross-corridor connections; ghost corridors within the lab so researchers can stay completely within their work space without going into the outer corridor; embedded offices within the labs; areas for interaction and collaboration; and plenty of natural light.

Facility Features

The first floor of BRC North features an auditorium, large conference room, a BSL-3 lab, mechanical space, and the main lobby to access both buildings that comprise the research center. The first floor of BRC West includes office space, an 8,000-sf core lab with support space, and mechanical space.

The second, third, and fourth floors of both buildings are generic in terms of design. They include outbound labs, office space, and lab support. Flex areas are available to provide work space for lab technicians, secretaries, or other personnel. Each lab with office and flex space is about 1,200 sf.

"Principal investigators with several million dollars in research funding will get two labs, or 2,400 sf of work space," notes Godkins. "That size will accommodate about 12 laboratory workers, the junior faculty, and a senior faculty member designated as the principal investigator. When we recruit high-caliber researchers, we want to be able to give them a lot of space."

BRC North includes a total of 23,886 sf of labs; 13,770 sf of lab support; more than 7,000 sf of offices with an additional 10,000 sf dedicated to other uses. BRC West is slightly larger with 29,490 sf of labs; 10,047 sf of lab support; more than 12,000 sf of offices with an additional 22,000 sf designated for other purposes.

There are a total of 48 research labs in the two-building BRC complex with three core labs, two bioinformatics areas, two BSL-3 labs, and a vivarium. The core lab has carts and overhead utility carriers with quick disconnect utility outlets and DNA sequencers.

BRC North is designed to accommodate 180 employees, while the number for BRC West is 210.

"We are currently in transition, relocating principal investigators into BRC North and recruiting researchers for BRC West," says Godkins. "We are 58 percent occupied."

Modifying Project Plans

After the BRC North building was completed and end users became familiar with the facility, principal investigators offered input about changes that should be made going into the second phase. The input and subsequent design changes resulted in a higher efficiency level in the completed BRC West wing.

"Building efficiency increased from 53 percent in BRC North to 61 percent and research floor efficiency increased from 64 to 68 percent," says Godkins. "We increased the size of the research laboratories from 900 to 954 sf by moving the interior walls to the corridor columns with a great visual result and by providing each principal investigator with one corridor closet for storage. We also decreased the size of the mechanical rooms."

Researchers noted several design aspects they would like to change in the BRC North Building. For example, they did not like the island cup sinks and the inadequate amount of glass storage. Principal investigators required more space in order to avoid crowded work spaces where extension cords are taped to the floor, creating a risk for injury.

BRC West offers more work space, additional conveniences for researchers, and a more efficient, cleaner design. In the in-lab lab support area, lab carts provide additional space for equipment and overhead utility carriers facilitate a more convenient, safer work environment. Glass storage has been increased by 50 percent and under-counter glass washers are located in some labs. Common glass wash rooms and sterilizers were located on every floor in BRC North.

Cordless phone outlets and whiteboards are available in the BRC West labs and lab support improvements have been made. The offices for the private investigators feature cherry wood furniture, and plenty of electrical and data outlets. The flex space includes a conference table and two bookcases. Security features are also more sophisticated with card access at every exterior door and the ability to isolate each floor from the others in each wing.

Additional BRC West Amenities

Even the corridor of BRC West presents a much neater appearance than its counterpart, BRC North. Columns, cable trays, and bulletin boards clutter the corridor in the first building, but the racetrack corridor in BRC West uses integrated tack boards with no columns or cable trays.

The research labs in BRC West are equipped with mobile casework, allowing researchers to configure the lab based on their needs; six tech stations with electrical and data outlets; and islands with no cup sinks. Cross corridors within the labs are used to house equipment which can be easily accessed by researchers.

There are three analytical instrumentation rooms per floor and each features movable tables. Bioinformatics rooms with extra electrical and data outlets, anti-static carpet, and plenty of shelving are located on two floors. Two tissue culture rooms with biosafety cabinets and incubators are located on each floor. Conference rooms have large tables, blackout blinds, video projectors, and whiteboards. A flow and image cytometry core lab is situated on the third floor and includes high-speed cell sorters, confocal and inverted microscopes, and a bench-top flow cytometer.

Vivarium Specifics

The 23,000-sf vivarium is a $6.2-million barrier mouse facility with an efficiency level of 60 percent. Seventy-two ventilated cage racks with 6,900 cages have a capacity of housing 20,000 mice. The non-barrier areas are separated from the barrier housing by a series of vestibules. The BSL-3 holding rooms and all holding suites are equipped with an automatic watering system and a thimble connection for exhaust from ventilated cage racks. There is one large quarantine area.

The corridors in the vivarium have epoxy-coated, fiberglass-reinforced walls and ceilings, and ultra-tread, epoxy, and polyurethane-modified concrete floors. The interior is easy to clean and guards against contamination.

The vivarium is designed for 100 percent air handler redundancy and a standby generator is ready for emergency power failures. The heat recovery system in the BRC West is expected to reduce peak tons from 2,200 to 1,200, resulting in a one-time savings of $1.5 million. The actual financial payback will occur over five years at more than $200,000 per year. A full floor of interstitial mechanical space is located above the vivarium.

A Touch of Beauty

An atrium and large windows create an influx of natural light that enhances the work environment in the BRC West. A gallery hallway featuring a wall of windows is located in the core lab area.

"Landscaping is an upside to everything here. To the north of the new building is a wonderful garden," says Godkins. "A courtyard attaches to both BRC foyers and the gallery hallway running east to west along the core lab on the first floor allows for a spectacular view of the landscaped area. It is not surprising that the researchers being recruited to the new wing all chose the north side over the south side."

Keys to Success

Selecting a project team that understood the University's mission, partnering with a good contractor, and having stable University leadership throughout the project are regarded as important factors in the successful completion of the building. Completing the BRC in two phases, with the first building costing $21.9 million and the second costing $37.9 million, also ranks high on the list of reasons why the project is considered a success.

"It took 15 years and a great deal of perseverance, but I think it was a successful project," says Godkins. "Learning from others, paying attention to detail, and being flexible are vital to a project of this magnitude."

By Tracy Carbasho