Research and Development

Aldevron is building a $30 million plasmid manufacturing facility in Fargo, N.D. The 70,000-sf project will feature 17,000 sf of modular cGMP cleanrooms, as well as ISO 8 processing suites with ISO 7 suites for cell banking and fermentation. The facility will feature airlocked, unidirectional personnel flow within the cGMP production area, single-pass air for all product dispensing and cell banking suites, and integrated facility and environmental monitoring systems.

Purdue University dedicated its $60 million, 122,462-sf animal sciences complex in March of 2018 in West Lafayette, Ind. Ground was broken in November of 2015 on the project, which includes the Hobart and Russell Creighton Hall of Animal Sciences, the Land O' Lakes Center for Experiential Learning, and the Purina Pavilion.

The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering announced the category winners for 2018 ISPE Facility of the Year Awards in March of 2018. The awards include: 

Modern research and academic facilities are increasingly adopting design principles typically used by small, fast-growing startup companies that depend on flexibility, innovation, and collaboration to succeed. Open workplace settings, dedicated collaborative spaces, smaller work teams, onsite entertainment zones, and shared support hubs are all examples of design features that are being deployed by larger research institutions and other organizations to improve performance and leverage changing demographics for better outcomes.

The University of Lethbridge is constructing the CAD$280 million Destination Project in Alberta, Canada. Supporting multidisciplinary science programs, the 387,500-sf building will provide flexible teaching and research labs, academic classrooms, meeting rooms, gathering areas, and a central atrium. Designed to foster entrepreneurship and the commercialization of research discoveries, the facility will include incubator space for industry partners as well as a community education venue offering interactive science displays.

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee will develop a new academic medical complex by transforming the former Columbia St. Mary hospital campus in Milwaukee. Designed by Kahler Slater, the $80 million project includes the renovation of 470,000 sf in several buildings to accommodate programs for the College of Nursing, the College of Health Sciences, the School of Information Studies, and Student Health Services.

The University of Canterbury opened the first phase of the NZD$220 million Rutherford Regional Science and Innovation Centre in February of 2018 in Christchurch, New Zealand. Designed by Jasmax in association with laboratory design consultant DJRD, the Ernest Rutherford building provides technology-rich teaching and research space for the College of Science.

The Johnson & Johnson Human Performance Institute began construction in March of 2018 on its new global headquarters in Orlando. Located at Lake Nona Medical City, the $18 million building will feature research and development labs and a multidisciplinary training center to support the creation of science-based approaches to improve human energy capacity for performance, resilience, and leadership. The 35,000-sf project represents an expansion of JJHPI's existing Lake Nona campus and is slated for completion by year-end 2018. 

Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology opened the Project Centre for Biomedical Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing (BEAM) in March of 2018 in Hamilton, Ontario. Located in the McMaster Innovation Park, the $33 million project involved the renovation and fit-out of an existing warehouse to create a 20,000-sf innovation center offering research, office, and manufacturing space. An additional 20,000 sf on the second floor will house laboratories and offices in the future.

The 10-story University of Arizona Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building (BSPB), the tallest addition to the 28-acre Phoenix Biomedical Campus, allows academic research scientists to collaborate with local healthcare providers and private companies to find new medical cures and treatments. BSPB is organized to encourage collegiality, collaboration, and customization. The building was programmed and planned before the occupants were selected, so the floor plates were organized in a general framework of labs, support spaces, and offices. The adaptable plan and utility distribution backbone was designed to easily modify to suit different types and scales of interdisciplinary research on the same floor, including computational, instrumentational, and cellular and molecular research. A multi-purpose translational core facility opens to the main lobby and is available to outside clinical and industry research partners.

The University of Tennessee will break ground in fall of 2018 on a $129 million engineering building in Knoxville. Designed by McCarty Holsaple McCarty with SmithGroupJJR as laboratory planner, the facility will comprise a central structure with two wings of up to five stories. The 228,000-sf project will provide flexible classrooms and research labs, maker spaces, project rooms, informal interaction areas, an atrium, and dedicated space for the department of nuclear engineering.

Allegheny Health Network and Highmark Health are planning to build the $80 million AHN Cancer Institute Academic Center in Pittsburgh. Located on the north side of Allegheny General Hospital, the 90,000-sf facility will house research and clinical space, including 49 chemotherapy infusion bays, advanced radiation oncology suites, and conference and exam rooms with telemedicine capabilities. The building will have two floors above ground, two floors below grade, and will be connected to the hospital's conference center and front rotunda entrance.

Wexford Science & Technology is partnering with Arizona State University to create a 200,000-sf research building in Phoenix. Representing an expansion of the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, the seven-story building will be owned by Wexford, with ASU investing $40 million in the first phase of development and leasing approximately half of the structure. The remaining research space will be occupied by private companies and industry partners. Completion is expected in 2019.

UC San Diego Health opened the $140 million Koman Family Outpatient Pavilion in March of 2018 in La Jolla. The 156,000-sf facility offers integrated translational medicine and clinical care in a single location, with multidisciplinary teams of specialists and comprehensive patient services collocated to support every phase of treatment. Designed by CO Architects, the pavilion houses eight surgical suites, basic and advanced imaging technologies, infusion and apheresis services, and the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center.

Duke University began construction in March of 2017 on a $115 million facility for the Pratt School of Engineering. Designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, the five-story, 150,000-gsf (88,000-nsf) building will feature two floors focused on active student learning, offering classrooms, teaching and design labs, a 200-seat auditorium, a Learning Commons, the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and the Center for Energy, Engineering and Environment.