Oklahoma State University broke ground in April of 2021 on the $100 million New Frontiers Agricultural Hall in Stillwater. Designed by PGAV Architects and Studio Architecture, the collaborative building will feature leading-edge environments for experiential learning including interactive classrooms and teaching labs that can serve multiple disciplines.
The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering has announced the 2021 Facility of the Year Awards category winners. The awards include:
Bowdoin College held a groundbreaking ceremony in April of 2021 for the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies in Brunswick, Maine. Designed by HGA, the 16,426-sf facility will be dedicated to the broad multidisciplinary study of the Arctic. Interactive teaching and laboratory spaces will enable faculty, students, and visiting researchers to better understand the region's unique environmental conditions and challenges.
Old Dominion University dedicated the $75.6 million Chemistry Building in April of 2021 in Norfolk, Va. Designed by SmithGroup and Moseley Architects, the four-story, 110,500-sf facility provides 24 research labs, 13 teaching labs, and a digital theater and planetarium that doubles as an instructional venue for advanced chemistry and biochemistry courses.
Life sciences developer IQHQ began construction in April of 2021 on the $1 billion Fenway Center in Boston. Created in collaboration with Meredith Management, the biomedical research hub will be situated over the Massachusetts Turnpike on an air rights deck. The amenity-rich campus will include two towers offering 960,000 sf of leasable lab and office space, 10,000 sf of ground-floor retail, and an automated parking garage.
The University of Warwick completed construction in March of 2021 on the £33 million Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research Building in Coventry in the United Kingdom. Designed by Hawkins\Brown and Fairhursts Design Group, the 75,000-sf facility provides flexible open labs for up to 300 researchers in neuroscience, cell biology, disease models, and microbiology and infection.
Sanofi will begin construction in fall of 2021 on a vaccine manufacturing facility in Singapore. Representing an investment of $477 million over five years, the structure will comprise a central hub housing several fully digitalized modules that allow production of three to four vaccines simultaneously. Designed for maximal flexibility, the next-generation factory will integrate multiple technology platforms based on different cell types, allowing the delivery of specific vaccines to be prioritized according to public health needs.
Promega Corporation opened the 283,000-sf Kornberg Center in April of 2021 in Fitchburg, Wis. Designed by Ramlow/Stein and SmithGroup, the three-story facility provides advanced laboratories for core product and technology development in cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, genetic identity, clinical diagnostics, and scientific applications.
Arizona State University and Wexford Science+Technology opened the PBC Innovation Center on the Phoenix Biomedical Campus in March of 2021. Strategically collocating academic investigators with private companies to foster collaboration and discovery, the 225,000-sf facility provides wet and dry lab environments, offices, meeting spaces, and retail amenities.
Zephyr Partners is planning to construct a $200 million cannabis R&D campus in Buffalo, N.Y. The 1.375 million-sf complex will provide research labs, extraction suites, a manufacturing center, and 850,000 sf of greenhouse cultivation space. Sited on 47 acres in the Lakeside Commerce Park, the complex will also include administrative offices and a business incubator for cannabis-related startup companies.
The University of Michigan opened the $75 million Ford Motor Company Robotics Building in March of 2021 in Ann Arbor. As the new home of the U-M Robotics Institute, the 134,000-sf facility provides the College of Engineering with collaborative R&D labs, maker spaces, high-bay research areas, a three-story fly zone for autonomous aerial vehicles, a Mars yard for rover and lander prototyping, and an outdoor obstacle course for walking robots.
Virginia Tech broke ground in March of 2021 on the Data and Decision Sciences Building in Blacksburg. Designed by Moseley Architects, the 115,000-gsf facility will feature a multilevel commons, specialized laboratories, data visualization classrooms, and interdisciplinary team rooms for collaborative student projects. Kjellstrom and Lee is the general contractor for the structure, which will collocate the university's programs in computer science, engineering, and data-related disciplines. Completion is expected in 2023.
The University of California, Irvine opened the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building in February of 2021. Designed by LMN Architects with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 204,750-sf facility houses the Samueli School of Engineering, the Donald Bren School of Information & Computer Science, and the School of Physical Sciences.
California State University, Chico dedicated the $101 million Science Building in March of 2021. Designed by SmithGroup with Research Facilities Design (RFD) as laboratory design consultant, the 110,200-sf structure features active learning classrooms and teaching labs for chemistry, physics, geology, and environmental sciences.
Heriot Watt University began construction in March of 2021 on the National Robotarium in Edinburgh in the United Kingdom. Designed by Michael Laird Architects, the 40,000-sf building will accommodate innovative research programs in robotics, autonomous systems, and artificial intelligence. Created in collaboration with the University of Edinburgh, the center of excellence will enable academics, engineers, and industry partners to address a wide range of global challenges.
