Research and Development

Buck Institute for Age Research will begin construction in fall of 2010 on a $41 million stem cell research facility in Novato, Calif. Ground was broken on the 65,600-sf project in summer of 2010 with completion expected in March of 2012. Designed by Perkins + Will of San Francisco, the facility will house twelve open-plan labs, cell and tissue storage space, offices, and a fitness center. The building will include a basement and three floors above ground and will feature a geothermal heating and cooling system.

The University of York opened the £5 million Centre for Immunology and Infection (CII) in the United Kingdom in September of 2010. The three-story, 1,350-sm facility houses biocontainment suites for the study of high risk pathogens and space for clinical trials. The translational research facility was created in partnership by Hull York Medical School and the Department of Biology at the University of York. The general contractor for the project was GB Building Solutions. Construction began on the facility in July of 2009.

Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences broke ground in September of 2010 on a $50 million facility in East Boothbay, Maine. The first phase of construction includes the $10 million Bigelow Center for Blue Biotechnology. The three-story, 25,600-sf building will house labs, offices, conference rooms, and the Center for the Collection of Marine Phytoplankton. Completion is expected in November of 2011. The completed campus will include buildings for the Center for Ocean Biogeochemistry and Climate Change and the Center for Ocean Health.

Michigan State University dedicated the $90 million Secchia Center in Grand Rapids in September of 2010. Housing the College of Human Medicine, the seven-story, 180,000-sf facility provides teaching labs, classrooms, simulation suites, clinical exam rooms, offices, and student areas. Construction began on the facility in April of 2008. The Secchia Center was created in partnership with Spectrum Health, Van Andel Institute, Saint Mary’s Health Care, and Grand Valley State University. The project team included construction manager The Christman Co.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory completed the Advanced Light Source (ALS) User Support Building in September of 2010. The $35 million project houses R&D labs for battery technology research, offices, conference rooms, and high bay staging space. The project received $14.7 million in funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

Cubist Pharmaceuticals broke ground in September of 2010 on a 104,000-sf expansion of its research facility in Lexington, Mass. The project will provide additional laboratory space for pharmaceutical development. Completion is expected in early 2012.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory has completed construction of the $224 million Physical Sciences Facility in Richland, Wash. The 200,000-sf project was designed by Flad Architects and built by a joint venture of Lydig Construction and George Grant. The Physical Sciences Facility supports national security and energy research missions with three main buildings: radiation detection, materials science and technology, and nuclear and chemical weapons compliance testing.

Wheaton College is building the $42 million Mars Science and Technology Center in Norton, Mass. The 99,000-sf project includes renovation of the first floor of the existing science center and construction of a three-story, 77,800-sf building. Designed by Einhorn Yaffee Prescott, the facility will provide teaching and research labs and will house the departments of biology, chemistry, math, computer sciences, physics, and astronomy. The general contractor for the project is BOND Construction.

The Nanotechnology Innovation and Commercialization Excelerator (NICE) will renovate 100,000 sf in an existing building in Salina, N.Y., to create a nanotechnology research facility. The $16 million project will transform Building #3 in Electronics Park to provide technology development labs and a business incubator. Construction will begin on the project in early 2011 with completion expected in fall of 2012.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) broke ground in August of 2010 on the 27,000-sf Laboratory for Ocean Sensors and Observing Systems in Woods Hole, Mass. The facility was designed by Ellenzweig Architecture with Columbia Construction as construction manager.

The University of Guelph will open the $70 million Pathobiology and Animal Health Laboratory in October of 2010. The four-story building houses research, teaching, and animal care facilities for the Ontario Veterinary College. The project was designed by Young + Wright / IBI Group Architects and built by Bird Construction Co. The facility includes a 120-seat lecture hall, a teaching lab, seminar rooms, research laboratories, and offices.

The University of California Davis is planning to construct the 19,124-sf Respiratory Diseases Center. Supported by $14.2 million in federal stimulus funding, the facility will house research laboratories, offices, animal holding, an inhalation exposure facility, and a pulmonary function testing lab.

Ferrosan completed installation of a modular cleanroom in September of 2010. The 325-sm facility was pre-manufactured as a whole in the United Kingdom and shipped to Søborg in Denmark with final hook-up, commissioning, and validation completed on site. The cleanroom was manufactured and installed by Clean Modules. A module housing the air handling unit was pre-commissioned and connected on site.

Ottawa Hospital Cancer Centre will open its new translational research laboratory in October of 2010. The $15.8 million facility is located on the expanded third floor of the Cancer Centre and includes drug development and testing suites for advanced biomedical therapies. The project is supported by $9.5 million in federal funding.

The University of Pittsburgh will renovate 44,525 sf in the Thomas E. Starzl Biomedical Science Tower to house the Vascular Medicine Institute and the Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine. The project is supported by $14 million in federal stimulus funding. The renovation will create modern, open laboratory space with associated support and chemical fume hood alcoves.