Biomedical

The University of Arizona expanded its Tucson campus with the completion of three new research and laboratory facilities in 2006. All three were designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership of Portland, Ore. The $46.1-million, 85,000-sf Chemistry Building will consolidate chemistry teaching and research programs and is slated for completion in late spring of 2006. The project construction manager is Hensel Phelps Construction Co. The $65.7-million Thomas W.

The Hormel Institute, an independent research unit of the University of Minnesota, broke ground in August 2006 on a $20-million expansion of its Austin, Minn., facilities.

The University of Nebraska Medical Center broke ground on a $74-million research tower on its Omaha campus on August 8, 2006. Known as the Research Center of Excellence II (RCEII), the 10-level. 252,179-gsf facility is nearly identical to the Durham Research Tower and will house 98 state-of-the-art laboratories, lab support, and investigator offices. The two research towers will be connected with a covered parkway.

The State University of New York (SUNY) has selected The S/L/A/M Collaborative to design three new science projects. At SUNY Buffalo, the 145,000-sf Acheson Hall will be renovated to provide a new home for the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences on the South Campus. The former chemistry building will be completely gutted and renovated to provide new classroom and biotech research space in a LEED® certified facility.

The University of Kentucky (UK) has unveiled the design for the $450-million Albert B. Chandler Hospital. Slated for completion in 2010, the new one million-sf hospital will be built by Turner Construction Company in two phases to allow for a step-by-step replacement of the existing hospital.

The University of Arizona has dedicated its new $48-million BIO5 Institute on its Tucson campus. Gilbane Building Company was construction manager for the 180,000-sf facility specifically designed for cross-disciplinary teams in the field of molecular life science. Gilbane's western regional office oversaw the project. The BIO5 Institute shares a block-wide development with the Medical Research Building, both designed by the Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership.

The University of Texas Health Sciences Center has been allocated $60-million in tuition revenue bonds by the State of Texas. The funds will enable the expansion of the South Texas Research Facility, accommodating additional biomedical and counter-bioterrorism research.

The University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine is nearing completion of the $90-million Clinical Research Institute. Located at the Jackson Memorial campus in the city of Miami, the 15-story facility was designed by Perkins + Will to sustainable design criteria and vouched to be Miami's "greenest" building at present. Sustainable design features include a reflective roof, double-paned windows containing insulating gas, and under-floor air conditioning. The facility includes a 1,400-car garage and a large wellness center.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) celebrated the groundbreaking on June 2, 2006 of a $400-million research tower in West Philadelphia. Sited on the former Philadelphia Civic Center site, the 558,000-sf, eight-story facility will accommodate translational research and is slated for completion in spring of 2009. The project is the first phase of the larger plan for the $845-million Children's Hospital's South Campus Research Facility which will spread over nearly eight acres across from CHOP's existing facilities.

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia broke ground in early summer of 2006 on a $400-million translational research building on the former Philadelphia Civic Center site. The eight-story, 558,000-sf facility will house four new laboratory floors, administration and conference space, two-story lobby, and a cafeteria.

The University of California, San Diego completed the $17-million expansion and renovation of the Biomedical Library on its La Jolla, Calif., campus in late spring of 2006. McCarthy Building Companies served as construction manager and general contractor for the project, which entailed the addition of 43,454 sf of space to the existing 32,950-sf library, as well as renovation of the existing structure. Los Angeles-based Pfeiffer Partners was the architect.

The University of Puerto Rico (UPR) at Mayaguez has plans to break ground in summer 2006 on the $15-million Bioprocess Institute, which will provide both capacity for  monoclonal bioprocess research as well as perform pilot-scale production. At UPR's Rio Piedras campus, the $85-million, 150,000-sf Molecular Sciences Complex will break ground later in 2006.

Johns Hopkins University has plans to house The Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences (IBBS) in the John G. Rangos Sr. Building, the first building to be built at the new life sciences Science + Technology Park at Johns Hopkins, which broke ground April 17, 2006. The Park is an $800-million development directed by East Baltimore Development Inc. that will include housing, retail, and other businesses and services.

Wake Forest University has dedicated its new $72-million Biotechnology Research Facility 1 (BRF1), the sixth building at the Piedmont Triad Research Park which is located on 240 acres in downtown Winston-Salem, N.C. The University's Institute for Regenerative Medicine along with the Lipid Sciences Research Group will both be housed in offices and labs in the five-story, 187,000-sf structure, which commenced construction a little over two years ago. Architect for the project was O'Brien Atkins; Shelco Inc. was the builder.

The City of Buffalo dedicated the $131-million Buffalo Life Sciences Complex on June 2, 2006. Designed by Francis Cauffman Foley Hoffmann Architects, the 290,000-sf complex consists of two adjoined four- and five-story buildings built on the edge of the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus.