Biomedical

Construction has begun at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom on a new £40 million biomedical research facility known as the Smith Extension. Designed by Wilson Mason and Partners, the 101,800-sf six-story facility will house the faculties of life science and medicine. The building is laid out around a central light well and shared laboratory facilities are located at ground level, including a freezer farm and a histology suite.

The University of California, Irvine is constructing a new 480,000-sf academic medical center at its existing medical campus in Orange, Calif. The $371-million hospital will accommodate 191 beds with space for future expansion. Designed by HOK, the seven story plus basement facility will feature 13 operating rooms; three interventional procedure rooms; laboratories; adult, pediatric, and neonatal ICUs; private patient rooms; a burn unit; and a connecting link to the existing tower structure.

The University of Ottawa opened the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre in October of 2006. The tower, comprised of a public hospital and its affiliated research institute, the uOttawa Institute of Mental Health Research, features state-of-the-art laboratories and technology. Construction began on the $132-million, 399,178-sf facility in December of 2004. Housing 188 inpatient beds, the hospital consists of nine three-story inpatient care units with a central open-air garden environment. The seven-story tower houses research, administration, and education.

Pennsylvania State University is planning to construct a 350,000-sf Materials/Life Science research facility at its campus in University Park. The total project investment for the biomedical and nanotechnology engineering facility is estimated at $190 million.

Emory University has received $261.5 million from the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation to fund expansion and renovation of its healthcare and research operations. A $240-million modernization of the outpatient care facilities at the Woodruff Health Sciences Center will enable the implementation of a patient-centered treatment model supported by translational research.

The University of Florida opened the 280,000-sf Cancer & Genetics Research Complex in Gainesville in late fall of 2006. The $84.5 million facility contains a five-story research wing of the UF Shands Cancer Center and a six-story Genetics Institute wing. The building also houses the Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research and a forensic anthropology lab, the C.A. Pound Human Identification Laboratory.

Texas Woman's University is planning to break ground in 2008 on the $32-million T. Boone Pickens Institute of Health Sciences in Dallas. Combining two of TWU's existing educational sites, the new facility will be located in the Southwestern Medical District at the TWU Parkland location. Accommodating programs in nursing, physical and occupational therapy, healthcare administration, and library science, the 143,000-sf multi-building campus will also house the TWU Stroke Center.

Novartis is planning to build an integrated research and development center in Shanghai, China. As the eighth site in the company's R&D network, the center will focus on infectious causes of cancer endemic to China and Asia and pharmaceutical research. Scientists will initially occupy a 5,000-square meter facility slated to open in May of 2007. Construction will begin in July 2007 on a permanent 38,000-square meter building to house 400 scientists.

The University of California Davis Medical Center is planning to construct the $75-million Center for Regenerative Science and Therapies in Davis, Calif. The University-funded sterile stem cell research laboratory will include testing and manufacturing capabilities and will partner with the California National Primate Research Center and other campus laboratories. Initial construction fees, yet to be approved by the UC Board of Regents, are estimated at $22 million.

Dartmouth College is planning to construct the C. Everett Koop Medical Science Complex on its Hanover, N.H., campus. The $140 million, 283,085-gsf facility is expected to begin construction in late summer of 2007 and reach initial occupancy in fall of 2009. Designed to foster interaction and collaboration, the Koop Complex will bring together research, patient care, clinical, and academic programs.

Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center opened the 558,000-sf Mortimer B. Zuckerman Research Center in New York  in September of 2006. The 23-story, 400-ft high facility was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership.

The University of Alberta is constructing a $250-million facility on its Edmonton campus for the faculties of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Law. Expected to open in phases beginning in fall of 2007, the building will enable the University to expand its interdisciplinary health sciences research and educational activities. Areas of study in the building include pharmaceutical sciences, spinal cord research, cardiovascular translational research, gastrointestinal inflammation research, and viral hepatitis research.

The University of Queensland opened the $70-million Australian Institute of Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) in Brisbane on Oct. 23, 2006. Located on the school's St. Lucia campus, the six-level facility will accommodate research combining the biological, physical, and chemical sciences. Housing over 250 staff and students with a maximum capacity of 350, the center houses state-of-the-art microfabrication facilities, a GMP-ready bioprocessing facility, world-class microscopy facilities, and advanced data storage and visualization capabilities. 

Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center will open a new $24-million research center on its ten-acre Torrey Pines campus in San Diego on November 9, 2006. The 90,000-sf research facility will contain 71,000 sf of dedicated science research space, 54 benches, equipment rooms, and a conference center. Designed by Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the research center was constructed by Rudolph & Sletten with Kavanagh Associates as project manager.

The University of Michigan has selected Gilbane Building Company as construction manager for its new 10-story, 215,000-sf academic medical center dedicated to ophthalmology and Type 1 diabetes. Partners include Cambridge architects Stubbins Associates and Clark Construction. The approximate completion date for the $78-million expansion is June 2009. The first three floors are devoted to clinics, the fourth to surgery, and floors five through eight are dedicated to research.