Cost-Saving Process has been Adopted Throughout the Province
The University of Alberta began using Business Case Analysis five years ago to rein in runaway costs and lend credibility to its capital planning process. The results have been so positive that the provincial government now requires all capital projects in Alberta, including schools, hospitals, roads, and bridges, to go through the process before being considered for funding.

A Tradeline Editorial
Let's hear it for Eileen Mitchell Gibbs. Or, more precisely, let's hear it for the Estate of Eileen Mitchell Gibbs, Mills College Class of '36.

An Armchair Tour of Eight Coastal Facilities
Sparked by the mounting interest in marine biology, a crop of facilities has come on line to make coastal environments more accessible to researchers, students, and the public at large. The building boom playing out along the southeastern seaboard of the U.S. has produced several structures since 1980 dedicated to aquatic learning.

NIH Philosophy Combines Research, Education, and Patient Care in Single Facility
In 2003, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, the recently appointed director of the National Institutes of Health, issued a roadmap for the new generation of researchers and clinicians. The roadmap called for scientists to use all available technologies and databases to venture beyond their disciplines to explore biological systems as members of scientific teams, partnering not only with other researchers, but also with academic institutions and private industry.

New York's East River Science Park is next to NYU and Bellevue Hospital
Architects at Hillier Architecture in New York City are developing a different kind of campus which co-locates private biotech firms, a science hotel, and venture capitalists near a revered academic institution and an established hospital. The East River Science Park, which will total 700,000 sf in three 14-story buildings, will be located near New York University medical school and Bellevue Hospital, creating potential collaboration between private and institutional research.

An Opinion on FM Futures
Read the current headlines with an analytical eye, and you'll get a view of the future for facilities management. That future is that mathematical modeling and labor-centered (read: "headcount-centered") planning will be at the core of facilities management. Mathematical modelers are going to take over the brain-center of almost all business planning and analysis because the old budget-thinking, number-crunching style of planning doesn't work for the complexity and speed of today's business functions. Headcount-based planning (labor) is going to become the central focus of facilities management. Old square-foot thinking is a second-order, derivative variable with respect to top management thinking about mission, whereas "headcount" is at the very heart of all top management plans and actions (unless, of course you are in the retail, distribution, or real estate leasing business where the square foot is king).

Challenging the staff and labor components of your annual business plans for facilities management is a healthy exercise. It puts on the table thoughts and ideas about efficient, streamlined, less-costly organizational solutions.

Large Instruments Present Enormous Design and Installation Challenges
Big machine research equipment can lead to major advances in medical treatments and discoveries of new technologies and products. Using the equipment can yield tremendous research rewards, but designing and installing the room-sized instruments is not for the faint of heart. It requires precision and expertise to design and install equipment capable of performing at the highest level of efficiency required to produce optimum results.

Emphasis on Flexible Open Lab Space Creates Vibrant Research Environment
The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) of Australia is receiving international acclaim for its new flagship facility, the Queensland Bioscience Precinct (QBP). Located on the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus in Brisbane, Australia, the QBP is a collaborative venture with the University of Queensland and the State Government. The 377,000-sf molecular bioscience R&D lab was created with an emphasis on flexibility, openness, and researcher safety. Prominent features include moveable furniture, modular benching, open floor plans, and interior glass walls that increase natural light penetration and enhance a sense of collaboration.