Industry News

The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center is planning to build the $294 million Center for Innovative Science. The 350,000-sf facility will house 375 researchers and support staff. The project includes renovation of an existing 150,000-sf building and 200,000 sf of new construction. The Center for Innovative Science will accommodate research on personalized medicine, the biology of cancer and aging, and genetic and environmental factors that contribute to disease. Occupancy is expected in late 2014.

Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System is planning to build a $127 million basic science research center and vivarium in Palo Alto, Calif. Construction will begin in 2013 and reach completion within two years. The 143,000-sf facility will house flexible, open wet labs to promote researcher interaction and collaboration. A 31,500-sf animal research vivarium will be located in the basement. 

Kaiser Permanente will open a $550 million hospital in Ontario, Calif., on November 1, 2011. The five-story, 386,000-sf facility includes a 36-bed emergency department, two patient towers, and an attached medical office building. Construction began on the 224-bed hospital in 2008; the duration of construction was 40 months. 

Sandia National Laboratories has reduced its water use by 30 percent since 2008 and its energy intensity by more than 8 percent since 2005 in nationally recognized efforts to integrate sustainable planning and design into its operations and facilities. Three projects aimed at decreasing energy and water use at the national security laboratory have received EStar awards from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). These and three additional projects also garnered Pollution Prevention (P2) awards from the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA).

Ryerson University's $70.9 million School of Image Arts is nearing completion in Toronto. Designed by Diamond + Schmitt Architects, the renovated facility will provide classrooms, studios, and an 18,000-sf photography gallery. The building features a high-performance curtainwall and glazing system that includes a programmable multimedia wall and LED lighting. The general contractor is PCL Constructors.