Laboratory: Wet

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. 

The Canadian Centre for Advanced Material Manufacturing (CCAM) opened in Mississauga in fall of 2024. The transformation of the existing building was designed by the Canada FIRST joint venture, a collaboration between HOK, Architecture49, and WSP. The ambitious project represents the first milestone in the Laboratories Canada program, a strategic initiative by the federal government aimed at modernizing and enhancing science facilities across the nation.

The University of New Mexico opened the $43.2 million College of Nursing and Public Health Excellence (CON-PHE) building in Albuquerque in October of 2024. Designed by Dekker in association with RDG Planning & Design, the 93,000-sf structure consolidates activities previously dispersed in ten separate locations, while also providing critical space for expansion. Flexible teaching labs and classrooms are equipped with innovative technologies to support interactive learning, training, and exploration.

Michigan State University broke ground in October of 2024 on the $200 million Plant and Environmental Sciences Building in East Lansing. Designed by HED and CannonDesign, the 200,000-sf facility will accelerate the discovery and development of global solutions for food security. Approximately 40 principal investigators and their teams will occupy the structure, which will feature leading-edge wet labs, growth chambers, and instrumentation suites.

Breakthrough Properties celebrated the opening of a 510,000-sf life sciences campus in San Diego in October of 2024. Designed by Flad Architects, Torrey View by Breakthrough offers state-of-the-art wet labs for the development of novel therapies and technologies, as well as flexible workspaces and collaboration areas. An iconic tessellated envelope allows interior floor plates to be infused with natural light, maximizing occupant wellness and energy efficiency without compromising performance.

Virginia Commonwealth University needed new space for math and science classes. When prototypes and stakeholder feedback indicated the student experience was top priority, they changed their planned two-stage facility to a single STEM building focused on making it easier for students to learn in the ways that suit them best, with spaces designed to break down barriers between faculty and students.

Lehigh University's new Health, Science & Technology Building is designed to break down silos between academic departments, to enhance faculty research and better prepare students for tomorrow’s transdisciplinary world. Three different lab modules—with no walls between them—facilitate easy transitions from one use to another, as well as expansion and contraction as needs change. And collaboration spaces are strategically located between labs throughout the building.

Aviva Investors is constructing the 60,000-sf Sidney Sussex Building in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Located at the Chesterford Research Park, the 60,000-sf life sciences facility will provide 10 individual laboratory environments in an inspiring natural setting. Each fully fitted suite will include open office areas and wet lab space equipped with benches, sinks, and fume hoods, supported by a dedicated plant room located on the same level. A floor of shared conference venues will promote collaboration and exchange.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee opened its $118 million chemistry building in September of 2024. Designed by Kahler Slater and CannonDesign, the 163,400-sf facility features technology-rich laboratories that integrate both teaching and research functions in a highly collaborative layout. Offering lecture halls, classrooms, and group study venues, the four-story structure provides numerous interaction areas with integrated whiteboards and a variety of seating options.

After a 2017 fire sped up the timeline for construction of a new science building, University of Delaware faculty and staff needed to make hard choices about how the building should be organized and what features and facilities it should include. Politically, the easiest path would have been to divide the space by department, but Peter Krawchyk, the university’s vice president of facilities and university architect, had a different idea of how to make the decision, one he argued would work better: “We didn’t begin with any kind of programming—number of principal investigators, fume hood counts, or anything like that. We began with ideas and culture.” 

The decreasing amount of time researchers spend in their labs is changing research facility design and space allocation, with an increased need for lab support space, a more significant reliance on core facilities, the creation of additional write-up and data analysis environments, and the purposeful inclusion of collaboration spaces.

Eli Lilly and Company opened the $700 million Lilly Seaport Innovation Center (LSC) in Boston in August of 2024. Developed by Alexandria Real Estate Equities and National Development, the 346,000-rsf facility offers Class A research environments for biomedical discovery. The 12-story structure also houses the first Lilly Gateway Labs on the East Coast to enable biotech start-ups to collaborate with Lilly scientists.