Research and Development

The University of Florida's $90.5 million Biomedical Sciences Building in Gainesville was awarded LEED Gold sustainable design certification in July of 2010. The eight-story, 163,000-sf translational research facility houses the Health Science Center Colleges, the Biomedical Engineering Department of the College of Engineering, and Animal Care Services. The building opened in November of 2009 and was dedicated in May of 2010.

The University of California Santa Barbara was awarded LEED certification for its Life Sciences and Engineering II buildings in June of 2010. A 20,000-sf addition to the Engineering II facility was awarded LEED Gold certification for new construction. The facility was completed in early 2010 and houses classrooms, labs, and administrative offices for the Solid State Lighting and Energy Center. The 80,000-sf Life Sciences Building was awarded LEED Silver in the existing buildings category. The facility house 35,000 sf of lab space and a 150-seat lecture hall.

Kennesaw State University completed construction of the 200,000-sf Health Science Building in Kennesaw, Ga., in July of 2010. Designed by Cooper Carry, the facility provides labs and classrooms for the WellStar College of Health and Human Services. Consolidating departments previously located in seven separate buildings, the facility features a wet lab for faculty research, a data analysis room, nine technology-rich classrooms, simulation suites, and 13,000 sf of nursing laboratory space.

Griffith University is planning to construct the $21 million Sir Samuel Griffith Building in Nathan, Queensland, Australia. Designed by Cox Architects, the zero-emission facility will utilize solar-hydrogen energy and will be completely self-powered. The six-story, 4,000-sm building will house laboratories, classrooms, and offices for environmental science research and teaching. The Griffith Building will also function as a demonstration project for solar-hydrogen energy systems.

Natural Resources Canada is building the $50 million CANMET Materials Technology Laboratory in Hamilton, Ontario. The three-story, 160,000-sf facility is located in the McMaster Innovation Park and will house high bay, mid bay, and low bay materials testing laboratories. The design architect for the CANMET complex is Diamond + Schmitt Architects with EllisDon as general contractor. Construction began on the facility in May of 2009 with substantial completion expected in October of 2010.

Telstar, a Barcelona-based company that specializes in biological systems protection and air flow control technologies, has developed a biosafety cabinet for the handling and processing of nanoparticles. The CytoUltra safety cabinet has been verified as 100 percent effective as part of the European NanoSost project. The containment technology gives total protection to the operator when handling NaCl nanoparticles (sodium chloride) for biomedical and technological applications.

Sumitomo Metals began construction in June of 2010 on a new research building at its Corporate Research & Development Laboratories in Amagasaki City. The JPY 10 billion facility is slated for completion by May of 2012.

Vivalis has relocated its research and development operations to a new 35,520-sf facility in Nantes, France. The €6.5 million biologics research facility is located adjacent to Vivalis’ existing bioproduction building and will support accelerated product development.

The Max Planck Society broke ground in June of 2010 on a 100,000-sf bioimaging research facility in Jupiter, Fla. The project is located on six acres at the MacArthur campus of Florida Atlantic University. The project team includes Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects, associate architect PGAL, laboratory design consultant Research Facilities Design (RFD), and BR+A Consulting Engineers.

Washington State University broke ground on the $35 million School for Global Animal Health on June 25, 2010. The 62,000-sf facility is sited adjacent to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Pullman. Housing research laboratories for the study of zoonotic diseases, emerging pathogen detection, and vaccine development, the three-story project is slated for completion in spring of 2012. The project team includes Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects and Bouten Construction Company.

The University of Mississippi will construct a second research facility at the Thad Cochran Research Center in Oxford, Miss. Providing expanded research space for the university's National Center for Natural Products Research, the building will include FDA clinical research labs and a botanical specimen repository.  The project is supported by $31.7 million in funding from three federal agencies. Completion is expected in summer of 2013.

The University of Florida is planning to build a $30 million facility to house the Clinical and Translational Science Institute. The 80,000-sf project will be built as an addition to the planned Institute on Aging research complex in Gainesville. Completion is expected by March of 2013.

The Alabama Robotics Technology Park broke ground in June of 2010 on the 30,000-sf Advanced Research and Technology Center in Decatur. The facility will house research, development, and testing space. The project represents the second phase of construction at the site, which will include three separate robotics facilities. Ground was broken on the 68,000-sf Robotic Maintenance and Training Center in December of 2009 with completion expected in September of 2010.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory will begin construction in spring of 2011 on the 175,000-sf Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in Golden, Colo. The project team includes architectural firm SmithGroup and general contractor JE Dunn. Housing labs and offices for up to 250 researchers and support staff, the $135 million facility will support megawatt-scale testing of all components and strategies for deploying renewable energy and other energy-efficiency technologies into the electric grid.

George Mason University dedicated its $42 million Biomedical Research Laboratory on June 11, 2010. Located on the Prince William campus in Manassas, Va., the facility is one of 13 Regional Biocontainment Laboratories funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The 53,000-sf project houses 20,000 sf of laboratory space, including BSL-3 labs for biological threat and infectious disease research. The facility will be operated by George Mason University’s National Center for Biodefense and Infectious Diseases (NCBID).