Biomedical

Carnegie Mellon University broke ground in early 2024 on the $252 million Richard King Mellon Hall of Sciences in Pittsburgh. Designed by ZGF Architects and R3A Architecture, the 338,900-sf complex will advance a new era of data-driven research, cross-disciplinary education, and creative expression. The transformative development will collocate the College of Science and the School of Computer Science with the Institute for Contemporary Art Pittsburgh in a prominent city intersection to foster connections with the local community.

FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies is constructing a $3.2 billion pharmaceutical campus in Holly Springs, N.C. Integrating sophisticated automation technologies, the multi-building development will enable large-scale cell culture manufacturing for the creation of bulk drug substances. Ground was broken in October of 2021 on the first phase, a $2 billion production center slated for completion in early 2025. A subsequent investment of $1.2 billion will establish an additional 425,000-sf plant that will begin operations in 2028.

Baylor College of Medicine is constructing the $260 million Lillie and Roy Cullen Tower in Houston. The 503,000-sf facility will strategically collocate the School of Medicine and the School of Health Professions next to the Texas Medical Center’s Helix Park. The technology-rich building will feature studio classrooms, lecture halls, teaching labs, and an expansive atrium that can function as a 500-seat auditorium.

Case Western Reserve University will break ground in May of 2024 on the $300 million Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building in Cleveland. Designed by HGA and Van Auken Akins Architects, the 189,000-sf facility will house the School of Engineering and provide additional capacity for the College of Arts and Sciences. Flexible research labs will be complemented by dedicated technical suites for the discovery of new medical treatments, energy solutions, and sustainable manufacturing modalities.

Iowa State University opened the first phase of the new Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in March of 2024. Located on the College of Veterinary Medicine campus in Ames, the 90,000-sf building houses essential infrastructure for sample receiving, pathology, bacteriology, necropsy, and histopathology. Strang provided integrated design services for the $75 million project, which leverages effective and efficient process flows to support an extremely high volume of testing.

Novo Nordisk has executed a long-term, full-building lease for a 165,940-rsf property at the Alexandria Center for Life Science in Waltham, Mass. Located at 60 Sylvan Road, the research facility is being redeveloped to provide next-generation environments for biomedical discovery. Neighborhoods of labs, offices, and collaboration spaces will foster interaction between investigators to accelerate the discovery and commercialization of new therapies. Occupancy is expected in 2025.

The use of animals in biomedical research, already a decades-long ethically charged issue, has come under fire in more recent years for both a lack of scientific rigor and its huge financial appetite. Concerns about waste in basic research—in animal lives, scientist time, and research costs—are mounting, particularly when investigators are unable to confirm the data and achieve the same results when replicating original experiments (either theirs or others’). The solution? Track the effects of extrinsic environmental factors that can impact an animal's behavior, health, and reproduction: temperature, humidity, light, noise, and vibration.

Lonza is investing $1.2 billion to purchase a pharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Vacaville, Calif. Presently occupied by Genentech, a subsidiary of Roche, the 427,000-sf complex provides a total bioreactor capacity of approximately 330 liters. Lonza is offering employment to 750 personnel at the site, which will continue to supply its current products at a committed volume of 30 percent throughout 2025.

Pfizer has signed a 15-year lease for 230,000 sf of Class A research space in San Diego to accommodate its growing oncology division. The global pharmaceutical manufacturer will occupy two of the three buildings that are currently under construction at Breakthrough Properties' Torrey View campus. Leading-edge wet labs will advance the creation of novel therapies, accompanied by flexible offices and collaboration spaces.

Phase 3 Real Estate Partners and Bain Capital completed construction in February of 2024 on Genesis Marina, a waterfront life sciences campus in Brisbane, Calif. Offering floor plates of up to 42,000 sf, the three-building complex provides over 560,000 rsf of Class A laboratory and office space. Every research suite is equipped with a modular benching system that is pre-plumbed and pre-wired for fast installation and effortless reconfiguration.

Oxford Properties is transforming Victoria House in central London into a vibrant destination for biomedical research. Developed in partnership with Pioneer Group, the £70 million project involves the conversion of 220,000 sf of the building's 300,000-sf internal area to provide sophisticated wet labs and write-up areas.

The Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research broke ground in February of 2024 on the AU$55 million Lang AO Medical Research Building - MacArthur. Located next to Campbelltown Hospital, the 63,000-sf project will provide state-of-the-art laboratories for the study of diabetes, pediatrics, addiction, mental illness, and indigenous health, and pediatrics. BVN Architecture’s vision for the translational facility interweaves collaboration spaces and instrumentation suites with flexible, open settings for shared discovery.

Increasing demand for BSL-3 and ABSL-3 lab space in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic is driving up interest in renovating existing research facilities to accommodate these high-containment spaces. Even a small BSL-3 lab can be a costly undertaking, with special attention required for security of both personnel and biohazards, location in the building, and waste disposal, as well as the design and commissioning of exhaust system.

Beacon Capital Partners and Trammell Crow Company are constructing Hyde Park Labs in Chicago. Designed by Elkus Manfredi Architects, Moody Nolan, and Interactive Design Architects (IDEA), the $225 million project involves the creation of a 13-story building atop an existing retail podium. The completed 370,000-sf facility will offer 300,000 rsf of Class A lab and office space spread over nine floors.

Kadans Science Partner is planning to construct a 139,000-sf research facility in Cambridge in the United Kingdom. Featuring a modular layout that can accommodate multiple tenants or a single entity, Merlin Place will provide best-in-class lab environments for the creation of new therapies, medical devices, and digital healthcare solutions. A flexible structural grid with adaptable floor heights will support a range of configurations, with vibration-mitigated suites available for sensitive instrumentation.