Biocontainment

Defense R&D Canada (DRDC) officially opened the Counter Terrorism Technology Centre (CTTC) at DRDC Suffield in Alberta on October 18, 2006.

AMDeC Co., a consortium representing 35 medical institutions in the New York area, is creating a multi-institutional rodent housing facility in Yonkers, New York. Holding up to 80,000 cages and 40,000 mice, the facility will enable institutions such as Columbia University, Rockefeller University, the New York University School of Medicine, and the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System to share space and equipment for research.

The University of Chicago initiated site work in fall of 2006 on the Howard T. Ricketts Regional Biocontainment Laboratory in Argonne, Ill. The facility will be located on four acres within Argonne National Laboratory. The project team for the $45-million facility includes construction manager Turner Construction of Chicago and designer Flad of Madison, Wisc. Completion is expected in February of 2008.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine dedicated the 78,000-sf Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory on Oct. 2, 2006. The facility will test for animal diseases including chronic wasting disease, mad cow disease, and avian influenza. The building, which reached completion in September 2006 after two years of construction,  includes a self-contained 1,200-sf BSL-3 facility, an electron microscope installed on a floating floor, and a 4,000 pound capacity tissue digester.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center broke ground on a $74-million research tower on its Omaha campus on August 8, 2006. Known as the Research Center of Excellence II (RCEII), the 10-level. 252,179-gsf facility is nearly identical to the Durham Research Tower and will house 98 state-of-the-art laboratories, lab support, and investigator offices. The two research towers will be connected with a covered parkway.

The University of Arizona has dedicated its new $48-million BIO5 Institute on its Tucson campus. Gilbane Building Company was construction manager for the 180,000-sf facility specifically designed for cross-disciplinary teams in the field of molecular life science. Gilbane's western regional office oversaw the project. The BIO5 Institute shares a block-wide development with the Medical Research Building, both designed by the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership.

The State of Maryland is constructing the new State Forensic Medical Center at the University of Maryland's BioPark in Baltimore. The 120,000-sf facility will house the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and will adhere to strict biosafety laboratory criteria. The Department of Health and Mental Hygiene may occupy the remaining 26,000-sf in the six-story facility. The first level of the facility will accommodate loading and parking. The joint venture of Gaudreau Inc.

Kansas State University expects to complete construction of the $54-million Biosecurity Research Institute on its Manhattan campus in late summer or early fall of 2006. The 113,000-sf facility will house 31,000 sf of laboratory and training space and 10,000 sf of administrative operations. Designed by architectural firm Peckham, Guyton, Albers, and Viet, the facility began construction in fall of 2004. The construction manager at risk for the project is Turner Construction.

The University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine opened its $63-million Animal Health Research Center in early summer of 2006. Dedicated to the study of the treatment and prevention of emerging infectious diseases of zoonotic origin, the three-story, 75,00-sf BSL-3AG facility accommodates biocontainment spaces for the study of agents requiring BSL-1 to BSL-3 facilities.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) dedicated its new  $182.6-million C.W. Bill Young Center for Biodefense and Emergine Infectious Diseases building in April 2006. Research in the 84,000-nsf building will focus on infectious diseases of global importance when it opens for occupancy later this year. Construction of the facility began in November 2003 and was completed in December 2005. It accommodates BSL-2 and BSL-3 labs and animal care areas, plus offices and conference rooms and a 1,250-car garage.

The University of Saskatchewan is initiating projects totaling between $460-million and $490-million on its Saskatoon campus. The $250-million Academic Health Sciences Center is currently in the design phase with construction to begin in 2007 and reach completion in 2010-2012. The seven-story facility will house an animal research facility and a BSL-2 laboratory. A second building will house a new school of public health, a library, meeting rooms, and a 500-seat lecture theater.

The Province of Alberta opened a new $14-million animal disease research and testing lab in Edmonton on Feb. 7, 2006. The BSL-3 facility will accommodate testing for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), chronic wasting disease, and avian influenza. The Alberta Research Council and the University of Alberta will also use the facility for animal disease research. The 730-square meter, two-story facility features modular, flexible design and biocontainment necessities such as stringent air and waste handling systems.

The University of California, Davis is constructing two veterinary medical facilities, both slated for completion by year-end 2006. Designed by SRG Partnership of Portland, Ore., the $77-million Veterinary Medical Building 3A features office, teaching, and clinical laboratory space, a research tower, overhead cranes for large animal transport, and a necropsy room with a digester. The 164,000-sf facility is being built to meet strict biosafety sterilization code requirements and vibration criteria.

Construction of the National Interagency Biodefense Campus (NIBC) is underway at Fort Detrick in Frederick, Maryland. A collaboration of the U.S. Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services, the 200-acre site will be developed over the next six years. Construction of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility began in summer of 2005 and is slated for completion in December 2007.

Indonesia's Ministry of Health is planning to construct a BSL-3 laboratory for the testing of avian flu. The facility will match the Hong Kong-based WHO laboratory where Indonesia currently sends blood samples for testing.