Research and Development

Construction of Northwestern University’s $32,250,000 Center for Nanofabrication and Self Assembly is nearing completion. Designed by Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Partnership of Los Angeles, the 43,800-sf Evanston campus facility will house research laboratories for the Chemistry department, analytical and laser laboratories, and office space. Contractor Turner Construction Company is joined on the project team by structural engineer Chris P. Stefanos Associates of Oak Lawn, Ill., mechanical engineer Bard, Rao + Athanas of Chicago, and civil engineer Terra Engineering of Chicago.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has awarded Hellmuth, Obata + Kassabaum (HOK) of St. Louis contracts to oversee initial projects of the Ames Modernization Program, a five-year, $430-million upgrade of the USDA animal disease research facilities on a 480-acre site in Ames, Iowa. The program will rebuild and centralize multiple laboratory and research centers, creating state-of-the-art laboratory and office environments in a campus designed for optimum functionality, flexibility, security, and future expansion.

The University of Missouri Columbia is building a new 124,000-nsf Life Sciences Center (LSC). Construction began in December of 2001 on the $60-million project which will include a DNA research facility, five teaching/computer labs, a 250-seat auditorium, 50 research labs, technologically advanced classrooms, a greenhouse, and multipurpose equipment rooms. The facility will provide flexible space to maximize interactions and foster interdisciplinary team research.

The proposed Assembly Square redevelopment project in Somerville will include approximately 2 million sf of R&D and office space, 1.8 million sf of residential space, 605,000 sf of retail, and 30 acres of open space. Sited on 126 acres, the project is being developed by Sturtevant Partnership, a collaboration of Boston-based Taurus New England Investments Corp. and Gravestar Inc. of Cambridge.

 Northwestern University began construction on the Robert H. Lurie Medical Research Center on its Chicago campus in March, 2002. Designed by lead architect Davis Brody Bond, LLP of New York and engineer BR+A of Boston, the 12-story building will house 9 laboratory floors with offices, a campus center on the ground floor, and two floors below grade for vivarium and mechanical rooms. Mechanical operations will also be housed on the second floor and the penthouse.

North Carolina State University is developing the 1,334-acre Centennial Campus in Raleigh, N.C., a mixed-use "technopolis" of university, corporate and government R&D facilities. With 1.3 million sf built in 16 major building modules, the Centennial Campus will also include a town center, business incubators, housing, and an executive conference center and hotel. The campus is comprised of the 1,120-acre Centennial Campus and the 214-acre Centennial Biomedical Campus.

Durham, N.C.-based Trimeris is considering the purchase of 40 acres of land in Research Triangle Park to consolidate its operations in a campus-like setting. Trimeris, developer of a potentially successful AIDS treatment, has already selected a developer to plan the project.

The State of Connecticut has selected Flad & Associates to design a renovation to their emergency response laboratory facility in Hartford. Flad is providing full architectural design services including programming and planning for the renovation of 2,500 sf of biosafety level 3 (BSL-3) laboratory and support space to provide the State Department of Public Health with state-of-the-art holding and testing areas for hazardous substances and material.

The Wake Forest University School of Medicine is planning to expand its Piedmont Triad Research Park by 180 acres. The expansion would increase the four-building, 600-worker park to ten times its current size.

Stanford University's Clark Center for Biomedical Engineering and Science, currently under construction, is slated for completion in summer of 2003. The multi-disciplinary 225,000-sf facility will bring researchers from a variety of different fields together. There are no walls inside the building. Work spaces are adjustable, with wheeled benches, shared fume hoods, and electrical outlets and ventilation ducts available every ten feet.

The University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center (UNM HSC) will build its first integrated research facility, the three-story, 70,000-sf UNM HSC Research Institute. The Institute will perform collaborative, interdisciplinary research on issues including the genetic predispositions, diseases, and environmental exposures that affect the 48% Hispanic and 9% Native American population of New Mexico. The facility is expected to cost $40-million to plan, design, and build.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is building a 3,000,000-gsf campus on 130 acres in the 660-acre White Oak Federal Center in Silver Spring, Md. The General Services Administration's National Capital Region broke ground on the first 125,000-gsf building in March of 2001. Designed by Kling Lindquist and RTKL Associates, the facility is a laboratory for the FDA Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Now 40% complete, the lab is slated for occupancy in early fiscal 2003.

The second phase of the Western Research Campus in Richmond is currently being entitled. Simeon Commercial Properties will break ground on the 90,000-sf life science facility in the spring of 2003.

Ware Malcomb has completed design services for Nichols Institute Diagnostics (NID), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Quest Diagnostics Incorporated. NID is a tenant the Talega Business Park in San Clemente, Calif., managed by Makena Properties. Ware Malcomb provided comprehensive interior architecture services for the 86,000-sf project, which includes 26,000 sf of administrative offices, R&D laboratories and environmental control rooms, 45,000 sf of manufacturing space, and 15,000 sf of warehouse space.

Chiron Corp. has contracted DPR Construction to perform a $200,000 interior demolition and seismic upgrade project at the former Emeryville headquarters of Rainin Instrument Corp., recently leased by Chiron. Chiron plans to occupy 71,120 sf, which comprises most of the building. Chiron's new expansion project is sited across the street from the company's 24-acre corporate campus.