Research and Development

Lonza opened a 300,000-sf cell and gene therapy manufacturing center in April of 2018 in Pearland, Texas. The facility features eight independent cGMP modular cleanrooms with single-use bioreactors and a fully segregated fill/finish suite. Supporting the development of new therapies from initial concept through the pre-clinical, clinical, and commercialization phases, the integrated building includes research labs, offices, manufacturing and production spaces, and support.

A new approach to the design of diagnostic labs in resource-constrained settings reduces risk and improves outcomes while accelerating the project timeline and lowering costs. The approach is based on the concept of One Prototype, which uses similar design modules as a starting point for each lab facility, whether new construction or renovation, no matter what the scale.

The University of Utah celebrated the opening of the $55 million Gary & Ann Crocker Science Center in April of 2018 in Salt Lake City. Designed by EDA Architects to promote student-faculty interaction, the four-story STEM facility provides interdisciplinary science labs, 10 flexible classrooms, lecture halls, an atrium, and a business incubator.

Idaho National Laboratory and the Idaho State Board of Education broke ground in April of 2018 on two new research facilities in Idaho Falls. The 80,000-sf Cybercore Integration Center will provide advanced electronics labs where industry, government, and academic partners can engage in collaborative cybersecurity research. The 67,000-sf Collaborative Computing Center (C3) will feature a supercomputer for advanced simulation and modeling operations. The estimated construction cost of both facilities is $75 million.

Purdue University Northwest will break ground in summer of 2018 on the $40.5 million Bioscience Innovation Building in Hammond, Ind. Designed by CannonDesign to support STEM programs in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, the 68,000-gsf facility will provide advanced instructional labs, collaborative learning rooms, clinical simulation suites, and research labs. Slated for completion in June of 2020, the building will accommodate progressive teaching and research programs for the Department of Biological Sciences and the College of Nursing.

GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is expanding its campus in Barnard Castle in the United Kingdom with the construction of a $130 million liquid biopharmaceuticals production plant. The 124,000-sf aseptic sterile facility will make injectable liquids for the treatment of respiratory and autoimmune diseases and is slated for completion by November of 2019. Building Information Modeling (BIM) and offsite construction methodologies are being implemented in the delivery of the project, which includes the specification that the building can be replicated anywhere in the world.

Boise State University broke ground on the $50 million Micron Center for Materials Research in April of 2018. Designed by Hummel Architects and Anderson Mason Dale Architects, the four-story, 85,000-sf teaching and research facility will provide over 40 research laboratories, two 80-seat classrooms, a 250-seat lecture hall, and offices and work spaces for faculty, staff, and graduate students.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency will invest $80 million to construct a new Centre for Plant Health in Sidney, British Columbia. Replacing the existing 48-building campus, the project will provide advanced quarantine, testing, and diagnostic facilities for the detection and study of plant pathogens. Supporting innovative plant science research programs, the center will enhance the security and economic vitality of Canada's agricultural industry.

The University of Nottingham began construction in March of 2018 on the third phase of the Centre for Biomolecular Sciences (CBS) in the United Kingdom. Located on the University Park Campus, the five-story 65,000-sf facility will provide biomedical research labs for the study of cancer and cardiovascular, respiratory, bone, and liver diseases. Designed by Benoy to promote collaboration by collocating researchers in one purpose-built structure, the center will include pedestrian bridges to the Boots Science Building and the existing CBS complex.

Leading optical manufacturer Zeiss broke ground in April of 2018 on a $37 million innovation hub in Karlsruhe, Germany. Created in partnership with Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and located on the school's north campus, the ZEISS Innovation Hub @ KIT will provide collaborative research and development facilities for industry and academic startups such as Nanoscribe, a company focused on 3D printing and microfabrication. The flexible 129,000-sf hub will offer offices, meeting areas, laboratories, and production suites.

The new scientific workplace (NSW) transcends departmental and organizational boundaries to create a high-performance open environment that fosters multidisciplinary collaboration, creativity, productivity, innovation, and product development. While the concepts of multidisciplinary teamwork and open buildings are not new, the NSW uses an overarching approach to ensure a facility is flexible enough for future development, and provides an environment that attracts top scientists.

George Brown College is planning to begin construction in 2021 on the Arbour, a 10-story, 175,000-sf mass timber building. Located on a brownfield site on the Toronto waterfront, the net-positive, carbon-neutral facility will house the Tall Wood Research Institute, the School of Computer Technology, flexible classrooms, research space for sustainable building technologies, and a childcare facility.

Bayer Crop Science is partnering with the University of California, Davis to create the CoLaborator facility in West Sacramento. Located in Bayer's Innovation Hub for Crop Science, the 3,000-sf facility will offer open, flexible facilities to support university-affiliated startups. Housing up to ten researchers, the project will provide equipment for the testing of agricultural and food-related innovations integrated with collaboration spaces for interaction with other entrepreneurs.

The University of Otago is constructing a NZD$50 million animal research building on its south campus in Dunedin, New Zealand. Located near the School of Medicine, the five-story, 42,367-sf facility will feature advanced technologies to optimize the welfare of the mice, rats, guinea pigs, birds, and pigs utilized in the University's research programs. Construction began in August of 2016 and completion is expected in early 2019. 

The Texas A&M University System is planning to construct the $22.8 million Veterinary Education, Research & Outreach Center at West Texas A&M University in Canyon. Strategically sited adjacent to the new Agricultural Sciences Complex and the relocated Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostic Lab, the facility will accommodate programs for two Texas A&M campuses, Canyon and College Station. The VERO Center will offer classrooms, labs, and livestock facilities for experiential animal sciences education and training. Completion is expected in 2020.