Academic Medical

New Academic Research Lab Planning Metrics

Improved Cost-Recovery Model Mitigates Unsustainable Upward Trajectory

Published 9-25-2013

With academic research funding either flat or slumping, it’s time to rethink current laboratory design standards. Concurrent with the funding slide is a hike in both direct costs (salaries, for example) and indirect research costs like spending on facilities operation, equipment, and labor. At the same time, the demand for space continues to increase unabated.

UCSF Funds Sandler Neurosciences Center by Forging New Partnerships

Public-Private Partnership Model Streamlines Delivery, Reduces Institutional Risk

Published 9-4-2013

The Sandler Neurosciences Center at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is a developer-built facility created through innovative planning, development, design, and research. A public-private partnership—an alternative to the traditional design-bid-build model—applies private-sector efficiencies to an institutional project. Benefits include faster delivery, lower costs to build and operate, and reducing institutional risk by shifting responsibility for construction and ongoing maintenance to the developer.

Lean Principles Minimize Four Categories of Construction Waste

Healthcare Facilities Lead the Way Finding Savings in Short-Term Capital and Long-Term Operating Costs

Published 8-28-2013

Getting the planning team on board with Lean project delivery from the outset of a project can net huge savings in both capital expenditures and long-term operating costs. A California hospital, for example, saved $700,000 and 550 sf per bed, and the project was completed 25 percent ahead of schedule, a level of efficiency that can be achieved in other industries, as well.