Texas A&M University broke ground in May of 2024 on the $41 million Engineering Classroom and Research Building. Designed by Page, the 54,000-sf facility will elevate the experience of first-year students and accommodate growing enrollment. The three-story building will feature a technology makerspace with advanced design and prototyping equipment, as well as faculty-led research laboratories.
BXP recently completed a 113,000-rsf innovation hub in Waltham, Mass. Designed by TRIA, 103 CityPoint aims to reshape corporate culture for science and technology tenants, energizing its workforce and accelerating growth. The flexible flour-story structure provides 80 percent laboratory and office space, with 20 percent accommodating a double-height cGMP manufacturing area spanning approximately 25,000 sf.
The Pennsylvania State University’s four-story Animal, Veterinary, and Biomedical Sciences (AVBS) Building replaced a 1960s building with updated space for research, offices, and instruction. Situated on Penn State’s University Park campus, the $98.5 million, 105,000-sf facility brings two College of Agricultural Sciences departments under one roof for easier interaction among Animal Science and Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences researchers who conduct studies on nutrition, reproduction, and infectious diseases.
The Davis Companies and Invesco Real Estate completed construction in June of 2024 on a 215,000-sf research facility in Cambridge. Designed by Jacobs, 101 Smith Place is the third structure in a new life sciences cluster called The Quad and offers 161,616 rsf of Class A lab and office space. Features include:
Montana State University is constructing Gianforte Hall to accommodate world-class programs in computer science, technology, and related fields of study. Designed by Lake Flato and Hennebery Eddy Architects, the 58,000-nsf building will provide teaching and research labs for robotics, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, machine learning, data science, software development, and augmented and virtual reality.
The University of Kentucky broke ground in June of 2024 on the $285 million Agricultural Research Building in Lexington. Designed by BHDP Architecture and Flad Architects, the 263,000-sf facility will serve as the central research hub for the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment.
Merck is expanding its Darmstadt headquarters campus with the construction of a $66 million quality control facility for MilliporeSigma, the company’s life science business. Spanning approximately 105,000 sf, the four-story building will provide GMP labs and cleanrooms for the testing of medicines and biological agents. The flexible structure is designed to enhance operational efficiencies and will bring 135 employees from different departments together in one collaborative location.
The University of Louisiana at Lafayette began construction in June of 2024 on a significant expansion of the New Iberia Research Center, the nation's largest facility for nonhuman primates. Creating an onsite BSL-3 laboratory for the study of infectious diseases and select agents, the $25 million project will enable the development of novel vaccines, diagnostics, and mitigation solutions. Paul J.
The University of California, Berkeley is planning to construct the Bakar ClimatEnginuity Hub as part of a new downtown innovation zone. Designed by Gensler, the five-story, 145,000-sf facility will provide wet and dry laboratories, collaboration spaces, conference rooms, and offices. The robust structure will also include flexible scale-up suites for the development of renewable energy solutions, carbon-capture technologies, and greener building materials and agricultural practices.
Children's Hospital of Philadelphia is constructing the $480 million Morgan Center for Research & Innovation on its Schuylkill River waterfront campus. Situated next to the existing Roberts Center for Pediatric Research, the 350,000-sf tower will provide state-of-the-art labs and core facilities where investigators and clinicians from different disciplines can engage in collaborative discovery.
Washington State University Vancouver dedicated the $63.8 million Life Sciences Building in June of 2024. Designed by SRG + CannonDesign, the 60,000-sf facility collocates the university’s basic, translational, applied, and clinical health programs in a single integrated location. The three-story structure provides faculty research suites, classrooms and teaching labs for biology and chemistry, and specialized learning venues for courses in nursing, psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and molecular biology.
The University of Massachusetts Amherst is constructing the Sustainable Engineering Laboratories, a national hub for clean energy innovation. Featuring flexible, multimodal learning venues, the $125 million facility was designed by Payette to provide technology-rich environments for immersive teaching and research programs. The vibrant structure will house the Energy Transition Institute, the Wind Energy Center, the UMass Transportation Center, and labs for autonomous vehicle technologies, energy storage, and ocean energy systems.
Post-pandemic employees expect their workplaces to offer amenities similar to those they grew accustomed to while working from home: access to outdoor spaces, the opportunity to choose between working from home and in the office, areas for individual and team work, and the ability to focus on their physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing with amenities such as a gym, quiet lounges with technological support for laptops, and nearby places to socialize.
The $93 million Agriculture & Natural Resources Building (ANRB) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville provides enhanced research, education, and collaboration with advanced technology, specialized labs, flexible classrooms, a large commons area, a 500-seat auditorium, lecture halls, seamless connections to nearby academic buildings, and a welcoming pedestrian plaza to engage the community. A biophilic design connects students, faculty, and staff with nature through the use of clerestory windows and a green roof that acts as an exterior living room with research gardens.
WACKER opened the mRNA Competence Center in June of 2024 in Halle an der Saale, Germany. Representing an investment of over €100 million, the next-generation facility enables the large-scale production of active ingredients based on messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA). The building spans a total floor area of 79,653 sf and accommodates four new lines supported by advanced infrastructure, including 17,222 sf of glass-enclosed cleanroom space for bioprocessing under controlled conditions.
