Biomedical

An evolution of the equipment and technology researchers need is transforming ordinary labs into facilities that deserve to be called next-generation or future-ready. Significant changes in space utilization and lab planning and design are driven by increased automation and robotics, the incorporation of manufacturing, enhanced information technology with an emphasis on data collection, ever-evolving technologies, developer core/shell fit-outs, hybrid work patterns, and different approaches to project delivery and construction. 

The past few decades have brought myriad technological changes to our daily lives, and experts predict the pace of change will only increase—especially in the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Much of the talk surrounding AI focuses on automating repetitive processes and analyzing data, which require additional computational power but not necessarily structural modifications. But emerging technologies, including AI and robotics, may require universities and companies to rethink their approach to designing and planning buildings and labs.

Texas Biomedical Research Institute (Texas Biomed), home to North America’s largest baboon population dedicated to research, has opened a new primate research facility focused on animal welfare, human safety, and operational efficiency as guiding principles. The new Animal Care Complex (ACC) includes three modular breeding and holding facilities, each with a capacity of up to 300 animals of multiple species. The spacious facility has five indoor rooms which range from 400 to 800 sf, and outdoor yards as big as 5,500 sf. 

Mount Sinai Health System opened the $100 million Hamilton and Amabel James Center for Artificial Intelligence and Human Health in November of 2024 in New York. Designed by HOK, the project involved the transformation of a former nursing residence into a 65,000-sf research hub for computational discovery. The 12-story structure will initially house approximately 40 principal investigators, alongside 250 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, computer scientists, and staff.

The vision of biomedical research as a collective effort is resoundingly clear in the $237.5 million Pelotonia Research Center, the first building to be completed in the 350-plus-acre Carmenton district on the campus of The Ohio State University (Ohio State) in Columbus. Opened in May 2023, the center integrates almost 100,000 sf of wet labs, 25,000 sf of computational labs, and 20,000 sf of core labs in a single facility designed to host interdisciplinary collaborations and public-private initiatives that focus on solving some of the most critical health challenges. With life science as the backbone of the research endeavor, current projects range from modeling cancer progressions to 3D printing of patient-specific anatomic models. 

University of Arizona Health Sciences broke ground in late October of 2024 on the Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies (CAMI). Delivered by the design-build team of SmithGroup and McCarthy Building Companies, the transformational project will serve as a physical and metaphorical gateway to the Downtown Phoenix district and the Phoenix Bioscience Core.

Cincinnati Children's broke ground on the $42 million Winslow Research Pavilion in September of 2024. The three-story, 45,000-sf building will enable teams of physicians, investigators, research nurses, data managers, laboratory scientists, and investigational pharmacists to engage in collaborative discovery. The Gamble Vaccine Research Center will occupy the top two levels, with a floor offering 16 beds for adult overnight studies situated above offices for outpatient studies.

The Sam and Ann Barshop Institute for Longevity and Aging Studies at the University of Texas Health in San Antonio illustrates the pivotal role location plays in enhancing the success of an internationally recognized research program. The Institute previously occupied two buildings at a research park 23 miles from the university’s main campus. University administrators wanted to collocate all research on the same campus to promote multidisciplinary collaboration and interaction, with proximity to all clinical research activities, and to promote efficiency and the shared use of resources.