Research and Development

The University of Miami will complete the ten-story, 188,000-sf Interdisciplinary Wet Lab Research Facility in spring of 2008. The facility will house laboratories, offices, interdisciplinary research groups, interaction spaces, and a vivarium. The construction manager is Moss & Associates. LEED certification will be sought for the project, which will connect to the existing Fox Research Facility on the University’s Medical Campus in Miami.

Esco launched the new Labculture Low Noise Class II Biological Safety Cabinet in March of 2008. The cabinet is the industry's lowest noise Class II cabinet, featuring noise levels as low as 53.5dBA (1.2m cabinet, tested according to EN12469). Typical Class II BSCs operate at 60dBA, with a reduction of 3dBA representing approximately a halving of perceived noise level. The Low Noise Labculture therefore has a perceived noise level 75% lower than standard Class II cabinets, allowing users to spend many hours working continuously.

The University of Ontario Institute of Technology (UOIT) will begin construction in March of 2008 on the $120 million General Motors of Canada Centre of Automotive Excellence in Oshawa, Canada. Designed by Diamond + Schmitt Architects Inc., the research and development facility includes a four story wind tunnel and will be built by Vanbots Construction.

Indiana University’s Simon Hall received “High Honors” in the 2008 R&D Magazine Lab of the Year competition. The new multidisciplinary science building is located on the Bloomington campus and was designed by Flad Architects. The six-story, 140,000-sf project is sited at the intersection of the departments of chemistry, biology, and biochemistry and houses flexible laboratories, technical support areas, and analytical instrument facilities.

Coloplast initiated construction in March of 2008 on its new North American headquarters in Minneapolis. The Danish medical technology firm’s 180,000-sf campus will be one of three global innovation centers and will house 300 workers. The $40 million project will enable Coloplast, a maker of urology, continence, and wound care products, to consolidate many operations in a central location.

Sanofi-aventis received LEED certification for its 75,000-square-foot R&D facility in Cambridge, Ma., in February of 2008. Completed in June of 2007, the three-story Cambridge Research Center houses laboratories, cold rooms, offices, conference rooms, and meeting areas. The project team included construction manager Linbeck Construction and architectural firm KlingStubbins.

The University of Florida broke ground on the Pathogens Research Facility in Gainesville on February 27, 2008. Housing the Emerging Pathogens Institute, the $60 million facility is slated for completion in August of 2009. Accommodating research on select agents and viruses including SARS, West Nile, and avian influenza, the 108,000-sf building will house BSL-3 facilities, 28 laboratories, offices, three rooftop greenhouses, and support. In addition to the construction cost, the building will contain $15 million in equipment.

Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies (TPIMS) initiated construction in February of 2008 on a $40 million, 100,000-sf headquarters facility in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Comprised of office and laboratory space, the project is being built by Suffolk Construction in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition. The 189-employee building is slated to open in 2009 and will house $9 million in equipment. The project will seek LEED certification for sustainable design and construction.

Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) is planning to construct the 130,000-sf Vaccine and Gene Therapy Institute in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Funded by $60 million from the state of Florida and $53 million in infrastructure expenditures from the city of Port St. Lucie, the facility will operate on funds from National Institutes of Health research grants. The project, to be constructed in the Florida Center for Innovation at Tradition over three years, will be modeled on OHSU’s Beaverton facility with which it will be affiliated.

The University of Oregon in Eugene dedicated the $16 million Lorry I. Lokey Science Complex in February of 2008. The underground nanotechnology research laboratory is associated with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute, a consortium that includes the University of Oregon, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon State University, Portland State University, Pacific Northwest National Laboratories, and nanoscience industry partners.

The University of Missouri broke ground in February of 2008 on a $2 million agricultural laboratory at the Greenley Research Center in Novelty, Mo. Part of a planned Learning and Discovery Park for life science partnerships, the project includes a separate conference center. The facility will be comprised of research laboratories, chemical handling and storage, and instrument storage. Completion is slated for late fall or early winter of 2008.

The University of Utah received $1.25 million from the Micron Technology Foundation to support the creation of a nanofabrication research and teaching laboratory in Salt Lake City, Utah. The gift will support construction of a core nanofabrication facility in a 185,000-sf building under development for the new Utah Science, Technology and Research (USTAR) initiative. The nanofabrication laboratory, which will occupy 10 percent of the building, will be built with vibration-free cleanroom technology.

Emory Vaccine Center partnered with the International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) in January of 2008 to create the Joint ICGEB-Emory Vaccine Center in New Delhi, India. The center will accommodate vaccine research for diseases including HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis C, dengue fever, and malaria. Funding to support scientific staff will be provided by Emory University with ICGEB providing space and infrastructure.

The Hauptman-Woodward Institute’s Structural Biology Research Center in Buffalo, N.Y., received a National Award of Merit from the Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) in January of 2008. Designed by Cannon Design of San Francisco with RFD (Research Facilities Design) as laboratory design consultant, the Structural Biology Research Center is a showcase for the state-of-the-art biomedical research that takes place within its laboratories.

Columbia University is planning to construct the Jerome L. Greene Science Center on 17 acres in the West Harlem area of New York City. Housing multidisciplinary neuroscience research involving computer science, genetics, and psychology, the facility is slated for completion in 2015. The project is part of the first phase of Columbia’s expansion onto the Manhattanville site located two-thirds of a mile from Columbia’s main campus. New buildings for the Columbia Business School and the School of the Arts will be included in phase one.