Research and Development

The William Eckhardt Research Center creates a home for the University of Chicago’s new molecular engineering program and advances the university’s Nobel Prize-winning research in physical sciences. The diversity of research taking place in the facility extends from the sub-molecular scale to the expanses of the universe. Conducting this research are teams working across multiple disciplines in engineering, as well as the traditional materials and physical sciences.

The University of Wyoming opened the $50 million Michael B. Enzi STEM Facility in Laramie in January of 2016. Designed to promote team-based, interactive learning, the 107,000-sf building features studio-style classrooms and an atrium commons area. The three-story facility provides 32 teaching labs for instruction in chemistry, biology, organic chemistry, physics, mathematics, life sciences, and computer science. The building also houses an atmospheric sciences lab to support collaborative research with the NCAR-Wyoming Supercomputing Center in Cheyenne.

Complex technology, expanding program, and increasingly specialized and segmented roles and responsibilities often create a disconnect in the process of designing and building sophisticated facilities. The result can be a research or diagnostic lab or high-containment animal building that becomes a burden to the owner, whether because it hasn’t been right-sized, is not energy efficient, or operates with sub-par reliability. The solution is to assign someone the task of aligning design decisions with the building’s ultimate scientific mission.

The University of St. Andrews is planning to build a $15 million marine research laboratory at East Sands in St. Andrews, Scotland. The 24,000-sf facility will act as a global oceanic research hub supporting the study of conservation and climate change. The project will accommodate the headquarters of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) as well as housing the Scottish Oceans Institute, including the Sea Mammal Research Unit.

OncoSec Medical Incorporated, a company developing DNA-based intratumoral cancer immunotherapies, opened its new headquarters and research facility in San Diego in December of 2015. Consolidating three previous offices, the 34,000-sf project houses over 50 employees and all of OncoSec's discovery research, clinical, and administrative activities under one roof. The facility features approximately 15,000 sf of technology-rich lab space that is strategically arranged to optimize workflow and minimize potential disruptions.

Carleton University began construction in December of 2015 on a $52 million (USD$36.8 million) health sciences building in Ottawa. The seven-story, 120,000-sf facility will provide classrooms and open laboratories to support neuroscience and health sciences programs. The project will also include collaborative research space for the study of healthy aging and infectious diseases. Completion is expected in August of 2017.

Richard J. Daley College will begin construction in 2016 on a $75 million advanced manufacturing center in Chicago. The project will support the estimated 14,000 manufacturing jobs that are projected to come to Chicago in the next ten years. The facility will open in fall of 2018.

Baylor St. Luke’s is building a $1.1 billion medical campus in Houston. Created by Catholic Health Initiatives and Baylor College of Medicine, the project includes a $917 million, 650-bed hospital with two bed towers as well an ambulatory care complex and laboratories for basic and translational research. The 27.5-acre McNair Campus will enable Baylor St. Luke’s to consolidate clinical services currently located at the Texas Medical Center and will also be the future site of the Texas Heart Institute.

Saint Mary's University is building the $19 million Science and Learning Center in Winona, Minn. The three-story, 50,000-sf teaching and research facility will physically connect to the existing Adducci Science Center and will provide advanced labs and classrooms to support interactive learning. Designed and built by Wight & Company of Chicago, the center will feature a 120-seat tiered auditorium and a three-story atrium. Ground was broken on the project in October of 2015 and completion is expected in June of 2017.

A backlog of construction, renovations, and upgrades may finally come to life, thanks to the $2 billion increase in NIH funding Congress approved in December, the first increase in more than 12 years. More than 80 percent of the $32 billion NIH budget is dedicated to extramural research—research outside the NIH itself—meaning that an additional $1.6 billion in research grants will be made available this year.

The National Institutes of Health will receive a federal funding increase of $2 billion from a bill passed by Congress and signed into law by President Obama in December of 2015. Representing the largest funding increase in over a decade, the legislation will establish the NIH's annual budget at $32 billion.

Tusculum College is building the $30 million Meen Center for Science and Mathematics in Greenville, Tenn. Designed by John Fisher + Associates, the four-story, 100,000-sf facility will provide teaching and research labs, classrooms, and lecture halls for programs in biology, chemistry, computer science, nursing, mathematics, and environmental science. Rentenbach Constructors began work on the project in May of 2015 and completion is expected in September of 2016.

A remarkable evolution in the tools and methods of research is driving a host of trends in laboratory planning and design, including fewer permanently assigned offices, a decided prioritization of computational over “wet” space, and an emphasis on core facilities and shared equipment, according to a survey of research organizations and A/E/C firms conducted by Tradeline.

The University of Central Arkansas is building the Conway Corporation Center for Sciences in Conway, Ark. Designed by Stuck Associates and WER Architects/Planners, the project includes renovation of the Lewis Science Center and construction of a three-story, 50,000-sf addition at a cost of $17.5 million. Research Facilities Design (RFD) is providing laboratory programming and design services for the facility, which will feature flexible labs and classrooms to support emerging pedagogies.

Sanford Health began building the $30 million Edith Sanford Breast Center in fall of 2015 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Designed by Architecture Incorporated, the three-story, 48,000-sf facility will provide space for clinical trials, a core lab for genomics research, a biobank, a multidisciplinary conference center, and a comprehensive range of services including mammography and surgery. The project includes 27,000 sf of renovated space in the adjoining Sanford Cancer Center and 58,000 sf of new construction.