Research and Development

The National Center for Atmospheric Research will begin construction in spring of 2010 on a $60 million supercomputer facility in Cheyenne, Wyo. The project team includes H+L Architecture of Denver, California Data Center Design Group, RMH Group, Rumsey Engineers, and Martin/Martin, Inc. Sited on 24 acres, the 100,000-sf facility will support climate research using sophisticated computer modeling technologies and will provide data storage for climate records.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is planning to construct two new office buildings in Chamblee, Ga. The $300 million project will create two research support facilities. A 294,800-gsf building and a 285,500-gsf building with accompanying parking decks will enable the CDC to foster interaction and collaboration by consolidating 2,000 researchers currently dispersed in leased locations.

Saint-Gobain opened its expanded R&D center in Northborough, Mass., on July 31, 2009. The $15 million project added 61,000-sf of laboratory, office, and conference space to Saint-Gobain’s largest international research center. Construction began on the expansion in July of 2008. The project team included architect Shepley Bulfinch Richardson & Abbott of Boston with A.J. Martini of Winchester as construction manager. Saint-Gobain is a manufacturer of building materials, plastics, ceramics, and abrasives.

Monsanto began construction in August of 2009 on a $12 million breeding center adjacent to its existing Canadian headquarters in Winnipeg. Located in the SmartPark Research and Technology Park on the University of Manitoba campus, the 29,000-sf facility will house laboratories, offices, greenhouses, growth chambers, and tissue culture facilities for the development of canola hybrids. LEED Silver sustainable design certification will be sought for the project. Occupancy is expected by December of 2010.

Auburn University will construct the 68,000-sf Center for Advanced Science, Innovation, and Commerce in Auburn, Ala. Funded by a $14.4 million stimulus grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the $29 million science building will house 21 laboratories including three genomics labs and two simulation labs.

Rice University will begin construction in fall of 2009 on the $44.5 million Brockman Hall for Physics in Houston. The National Institute of Standards and Technology awarded $11 million in stimulus funding for the project in July of 2009.

The University of Miami was awarded $15 million in stimulus funding in July of 2009 by the National Institute of Standards and Technology to build the $44 million Marine Technology and Life Sciences Seawater (MTLSS) Research Building in Miami, Fla. To be constructed at the University’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the facility will house state-of-the-art seawater laboratories and multidisciplinary research facilities dedicated to two major areas of coastal studies—the destructive power of hurricanes and the biology of coastal waters.

Intel Corp. is engaged in a $2.5 million upgrade of the Fab 11X manufacturing complex in Rio Rancho, N.M. The facility will house a 400,000-sf cleanroom and will begin producing 32 nanometer chips in fall of 2010. The building includes a central computer control room to monitor the plant’s advanced manufacturing equipment. Fab 11X was completed in 2002 and was renovated in 2007.

Dow AgroSciences will break ground in August of 2009 on an 80,000-sf R&D facility adjacent to its existing headquarters in Indianapolis. The two-story facility will be developed and owned by Browning Investments and leased by Dow. Designed by BSA Life Structures of Indianapolis, the building will house laboratories accommodating 100 researchers. Occupancy is expected in mid-2010. Dow AgroSciences is a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co.

NASA broke ground on a $23 million office building in Hampton, Va., in July of 2009. The 72,000-sf Building 1 will be constructed to attain LEED Gold sustainable design certification. The project is part of a $200 million renovation and expansion of Langley Research Center to support aeronautics research with improved facilities and infrastructure.

The State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) is planning to build the $45 million Computer Chip Commercialization Center in Marcy, N.Y. Created in partnership with University at Albany College of Nanoscale Science & Engineering, the facility will support R&D collaboration with private industry partners. Construction is expected to begin in fall of 2009 and reach completion in 2011.

President Barack Obama allocated $1.825 billion for H1N1 preparedness in July of 2009. Supporting vaccine development, testing, and planning, the funding comes from $7.65 in funding previously awarded to the Department of Health and Human Services by Congress for H1N1 pandemic response. H1N1 vaccine manufacturers for the United States include Novartis, Sanofi Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline, Baxter, and AstraZeneca.

Midwestern State University opened the expanded and renovated Fowler Hall in Wichita Falls, Texas, in July of 2009. Housing the McCoy School of Engineering, the 23,000-sf academic building provides classrooms, department and faculty offices, study pods, and engineering research facilities. The project was designed by SHW Group of Dallas and features three high bay labs as well as labs for physics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, machine dynamics, measurement and instrumentation, fluid power, and materials science. Jose I.

The emirate of Ras Al Khaimah will initiate construction on the Centre for Advanced Materials (RAK-CAM) in September of 2009. The 6,000-sm research facility will house interdisciplinary laboratories for the study of alternative energy, construction, water purification, and environmental preservation. Occupancy is slated for late 2010.

Pennsylvania State University celebrated the opening of the $121 million Hershey Cancer Institute on June 26, 2009. The 176,000-sf facility is located on the Hershey Medical Center Campus in University Park, Pa. Designed by Payette of Boston, the translational research facility integrates clinical treatment and medical research. The project team included associate architect Array Healthcare Facilities Solutions, construction manager Gilbane Building, and MEP engineer Bard, Rao + Athanas (BR+A).