Energy Use Reduction

The University of Chicago’s two-story, 2,450-sf Warren Woods Ecological Field Station is the first Passive House-certified laboratory in North America and only the fifth in the world. “Passive House” standards achieve minimal energy usage for heating and cooling, despite the presence of a minus-80-degree-Celsius freezer, plant growth chambers, an incubator, and tools for DNA extraction, all of which generate a lot of heat, coupled with a humid environment and a high level of occupancy by researchers.

Illumina is planning a 360,000-sf research campus in Foster City, Calif. Developed by BioMed Realty Trust, the build-to-suit project will include two highly flexible laboratory and office buildings as well as outdoor recreation areas. LEED Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the campus, which is slated for completion in 2017. Illumina, a provider of genomic sequencing and diagnostics solutions, will initially lease the facilities for 15 years.

SUNY Polytechnic is building the $191 million Zero-Energy Nanotechnology (ZEN) building in Albany, N.Y. Designed by EYP Architecture & Engineering to support clean energy research, the 360,000-sf facility will provide labs, classrooms, offices, and a large central atrium. The building will also house the new data center for the state of New York and the headquarters of the U.S. Photovoltaic Manufacturing Consortium. CommerceHub will occupy 50,000 sf in the building.

Kent State University will begin construction in fall of 2015 on the $37.6 million Integrated Sciences Building in Kent, Ohio. Designed by Ayers Saint Gross and built by Turner Construction, the 57,000-gsf facility will be physically connected to the existing Williams Hall and will include 13,500 sf of shell space on the basement level. A minimum of LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Completion is expected in summer of 2017.

AstraZeneca will break ground in early 2015 on its $500 million Global R&D Centre and Corporate Headquarters in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Providing sophisticated pharmaceutical discovery and development facilities, the project will include space for biologics research, high throughput screening, medicinal chemistry, pre-clinical research, and clinical development. The 11-acre campus will accommodate approximately 2,000 employees.

The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center will open its $1.5 billion hospital complex at Mission Bay in February of 2015. The project comprises the Benioff Children’s Hospital San Francisco, the Betty Irene Moore Women’s Hospital, and the Bakar Cancer Hospital. The 289-bed complex is designed to support the integration of biomedical research with patient care and features advanced imaging suites, a helipad, and a fleet of robotic couriers to deliver supplies, meals, and medications.

The University of Illinois officially broke ground on the $24 million Integrated Bioprocessing Laboratory in Urbana in October of 2014. Part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences, the facility will feature a biofuels pilot plant for UI's Center for BioEnergy Research. Supporting collaborative development with industry partners, the 43,000-sf lab will provide two classrooms, flexible processing suites with moveable walls, and 300-liter fermenters for biofuels testing.

Michigan State University is constructing the $61 million Bio Engineering Facility in East Lansing. Designed to support interdisciplinary biomedical research, the 130,000-sf building will provide open laboratories and offices for faculty from the colleges of Engineering, Human Medicine, and Natural Science. The sustainably designed facility will be physically connected to the existing Clinical Center C-Wing and Life Sciences B-Wing with proximity to the Radiology Building. Ground was broken on the project in June of 2013 with occupancy expected in fall of 2015.

The University of California, Los Angeles dedicated the Edie & Lew Wasserman Building in October of 2014. Designed by Richard Meier and Partners Architects, the $115.6 million research and treatment facility provides space for the Stein Eye Institute, the Department of Neurosurgery, and the Institute of Urologic Oncology. Integrating patient care, medical research, and physician training, the six-story, 100,000-sf project will support the collaboration of multidisciplinary physician teams.

Thermo Fisher Scientific dedicated the $85 million Niche Diagnostics Center of Excellence in October of 2014 in Fremont, Calif. The 350,000-sf R&D facility will support the creation and production of advanced diagnostic testing and quality control products. Housing 500 employees, the sustainably designed center features a sophisticated HVAC system and low-flow water fixtures.

The University of Liverpool will begin construction in November of 2014 on the Materials Innovation Factory in the United Kingdom. Developed in partnership with Unilever, the four-story, 125,000-sf building will provide materials science research labs with a total of 126 fume hoods. The project team includes architect Fairhursts Design Group, civil and structural engineer Curtins, building services engineer White Young Green, and cost consultant Turner & Townsend.

The University of Miami opened the $50 million Marine Technology and Life Sciences Seawater Complex in October of 2014 in Virginia Key, Fla. Located on the campus of the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the facility will support advanced research on marine life, climate change, coral reefs, and hurricanes. The 86,000-sf project is supplied with 1,000 gallons of seawater per minute and features a 3D hurricane testing lab with a 38,000-gallon tank.

The Department of Energy opened the $54 million General Purpose Laboratory at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab in October of 2014. The 43,000-sf facility provides 33 labs for the study of renewable energy, battery technologies, and life sciences. Designed by RMW Architecture and Interiors, the sustainably designed project features occupancy sensors for lighting, temperature, and equipment. The General Purpose Lab will accommodate approximately 130 researchers and is part of an ongoing seismic renovation of the LBNL campus.

Binghamton University dedicated the $30 million Center of Excellence in Small Scale Systems Integration and Packaging (S3IP) in October of 2014. Providing laboratories, offices, and a symposium hall, the 114,000-sf facility will support collaborative research with industry partners on energy technologies, flexible electronics, and packaging. The sustainably designed center is part of Binghamton's Innovative Technologies Complex and features a heat recovery system, a highly efficient building envelope, and abundant natural lighting.

NASA Langley Research Center began construction in October of 2014 on a $23 million computational laboratory in Hampton, Va. The 40,000-sf facility will provide high-density offices and a consolidated data center to support aeronautical, space exploration, and science research. The general contractor for the sustainably designed project is Turner Construction. Occupancy is expected in August of 2016.