Latest Reports

The Carbon Neutral Energy Solutions (C-NES) Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology integrates three distinct types of space to create a research environment that offers optimal flexibility. The 42,000-sf building is designed to facilitate research programs of today and tomorrow by featuring not only labs and offices, but also high-bay spaces capable of housing large or heavy pieces of equipment and mid-bay spaces where the equipment is usually less than 10 feet tall.

The three-story, 42,000-gsf integrated teaching and research facility includes state-of-the-art laboratories—supporting biochemistry, environmental science and engineering, computer engineering, and acoustical engineering—as well as general-use classrooms. The central organizing atrium with its popular Science Café is both a thoroughfare and destination. Labs and classrooms open off the atrium, with progressively quieter zones for study and faculty office suites extending away from the atrium.

The University of Massachusetts, Suffolk Construction Company, and Architectural Resources Cambridge approached the UMass Medical School's Albert Sherman Center with three major goals in mind: to visualize the building using 3-D Virtual Design and Construction, manage construction through comprehensive Building Information Modeling, and collect that data in a usable format to better maintain and operate the building in the future.

The average lifespan of a building is 60 years, but the forces that drive the workplace may change as often as every six months. The challenge, whether for new construction or renovation, is to design a workplace that will adapt to a fluctuating timetable of changes in technology, business goals, and the workforce. The keys to success are a flexible workplace and a strong change management process.

The University of British Columbia Centre for Comparative Medicine (CCM) is unique to British Columbia and is the largest facility of its kind in Western Canada. Spanning over 53,800 sf (5,000 square meters), the UBC CCM provides the flexibility to house and conduct research on medium- to large-sized animals and a variety of zoological species.