Tradeline's industry reports are a must-read resource for those involved in facilities planning and management. Reports include management case studies, current and in-depth project profiles, and editorials on the latest facilities management issues.
The use of animals in biomedical research, already a decades-long ethically charged issue, has come under fire in more recent years for both a lack of scientific rigor and its huge financial appetite. Concerns about waste in basic research—in animal lives, scientist time, and research costs—are mounting, particularly when investigators are unable to confirm the data and achieve the same results when replicating original experiments (either theirs or others’). The solution? Track the effects of extrinsic environmental factors that can impact an animal's behavior, health, and reproduction: temperature, humidity, light, noise, and vibration.
In the 12 years between the conception and funding of Thurgood Marshall Hall and when an architect was hired to design it, the University of Maryland had added four research centers with 40 faculty and staff, creating a 20% shortfall in space and funding. Then at 60% construction drawings, the School of Public Policy added an undergraduate program. Learn how the university made creative use of every available corner of the new building to provide the program the students and faculty require.
The University of North Dakota was ready to build a new facility for its business and public administration students. They had a significant donor on board to help, but how to make up the rest of the budget? The answer, it turned out, was to engage donors not just in the funding, but in the design and function of the building, and incorporate their ideas into its fabric.
Increasing demand for BSL-3 and ABSL-3 lab space in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is driving up interest in renovating existing research facilities to accommodate these high-containment spaces. Even a small BSL-3 lab can be a costly undertaking, with special attention required for security of both personnel and biohazards, location in the building, and waste disposal, as well as the design and commissioning of exhaust system.
The new Science and Engineering Building (SEB), completed in 2020 on the campus of the University of Texas at San Antonio, is helping the engineering, biology, and chemistry departments overcome the challenges of inadequate infrastructure, crowded instructional rooms, poor access between labs across multiple buildings, insufficient lab support areas, and lack of space to accommodate capstone projects.
