Latest Reports

The recently opened Translational Research Institute (TRI) in Brisbane, Australia, combines four major research institutes into a single medical and biopharmaceutical research facility where new treatments can be developed, manufactured, and clinically tested in one location, greatly shortening the time between discovery and application.

The 282,000-sf, five-story Energy Environment Experiential Learning (EEEL) building at the University of Calgary provides instructional space for expanded programs in energy and environment; new laboratories for biology, chemistry, and civil, mechanical, and chemical engineering; and space for faculty and staff. With its distinctive glass and aluminum exterior, EEEL creates an impressive front door to the community as the first major University building at the north campus entrance.

What began as an effort to increase the mouse cage density in the vivarium at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute (SCRI) has evolved into an opportunity to improve efficiency and animal care by using Lean principles. Getting to that point revealed interesting data on how often it is necessary to change mouse cages.

The Education Greenhouse, a new plant research facility for the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, includes a new 10,000-sf research greenhouse; a new 5,500-sf laboratory for the Plant, Soil, and Insect Sciences Department (PSIS); and a renovated 4,500-sf teaching greenhouse.

Renovating facilities using sustainable design can be an economically feasible means of making older buildings relevant again. Elements such as passive ventilation and natural lighting reduce utility bills by more than 75 percent and increase the appraised property value, with the potential to achieve net-zero energy consumption and a 10-year return on investment.