Industry News

Monash University opened its $153 million regenerative medicine research facility in Clayton, Australia, in April of 2009. Construction began on the 17,200-sm project in January of 2007. The sustainably-designed facility is comprised of two four-story buildings connected by a core structure and is part of a growing biomedical research campus.

Smart Cells International opened its cord blood stem cell facility in London in March of 2009. The advanced processing and storage laboratory will house stem cells from donors and families in a GMP-certified facility with advanced monitoring systems for air pressure, air particle count, and liquid nitrogen level in the tanks. The building also features backup power generation and a sophisticated air handling system.

Oklahoma State University will officially break ground on the Institute for Agricultural Biosciences on May 1, 2009. Located in Ardmore, the facility will support research on agricultural energy sources in collaboration with the Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation. The building will house administrative space, traditional and controlled environmental laboratories, greenhouses, and conference rooms for the OSU Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources. LEED certification for sustainable design will be sought for the project.

Brandeis University celebrated the opening of the $154 million Carl J. Shapiro Science Center in Waltham, Mass., in April of 2009. Designed by Payette of Boston, the 175,000-sf project broke ground in spring of 2006. The facility features interdisciplinary research labs, a science commons, classrooms, seminar rooms, conference rooms, and a café. The Shapiro Science Center will officially be dedicated in fall of 2009 and represents the first phase of the Science Complex Renewal Project.

The U.S. Forest Service will break ground in April of 2009 on a 21,700-sf headquarters for the Rocky Mountain Research Station in Fort Collins, Colo. Supported by $1.3 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the two-story building will house laboratories and offices for environmental science and climate change research. Utilizing solar power for electricity and water heating, the collaborative and flexible research facility will feature an open laboratory plan. The general contractor for the project is Greenleaf Construction.