The 55,000-sf James Center for Molecular and Life Sciences at Eckerd College houses biology, chemistry, and biochemistry departments under one roof for the first time, with biology and chemistry offices interspersed to foster interdisciplinary collaboration. The building contains nine 24-student teaching labs, two classrooms, four faculty-student research spaces, and 14 faculty offices.
Ramapo College is building the Adler Center for Nursing Excellence in Mahwah, N.J. Designed by Mitchell/Giurgola Architects, the 36,000-sf facility will feature three simulation rooms, a nursing skills lab, an anatomy and physiology lab, classrooms, and computer labs. The project is part of a $54 million renovation of Ramapo College's science center and is being built by Cambridge Construction Management to attain LEED Silver sustainable design certification.
Ohio State University celebrated the opening of the $126 million Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering and Chemistry Building (CBEC) in Columbus in April of 2015. The two-building, 235,000-sf project includes a four-story teaching and research building physically connected to a six-story office and research building. The LEED-certified complex features wet research labs with ancillary support, computational research suites, shared core labs, instructional spaces, and offices for faculty, graduate students, and administration.
The College of Lake County broke ground in March of 2015 on the $28.3 million Science and Engineering Building in Grayslake, Ill. The project includes construction of a three-story, 41,900-sf facility housing four laser and photonics labs, five chemistry labs, and an engineering lab. Additionally, 25,000 sf of existing space will be renovated to create labs for biology, microbiology, and anatomy and physiology.
Apple is planning to build a four-story, 269,000-sf research and development facility in Yokohama, Japan. Constructed on the site of a former Panasonic factory in Tsunashima-higashi, the sustainably designed project will feature highly efficient building systems, water recycling technologies, and a green roof. Construction is expected to commence by the end of 2015 with completion in 2016.
Ground was broken in March of 2015 on the $47 million Shriners Hospital for Children Medical Center in Lexington. The five-story, 110,000-sf facility is sited on the campus of the University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare will lease the top two floors to provide clinical space for ophthalmology. Shriners’ pediatric orthopaedic services will be housed in 60,000 sf on the first three floors. The medical center will provide 20 patient exam rooms, a motion analysis lab, two surgical suites, and rehabilitation facilities.
George Washington University opened the $275 million Science and Engineering Hall in March of 2015 in Washington, D.C. Located on the Foggy Bottom campus, the 500,000-sf interdisciplinary facility provides classrooms, integrated core facilities, and collaborative research spaces. Designed by Ballinger, the facility houses laboratories for biomedical engineering, nanofabrication, molecular genetics, imaging, and environmental engineering. The three-story high bay lab will support structural testing for large-scale construction components.
San Diego Mesa College opened the $40.5 million Social and Behavioral Sciences Building in February of 2015. The three-story, 74,000-sf facility provides classrooms for programs in history, anthropology, psychology, sociology, and communication studies, as well as laboratory space. The project has attained LEED Silver sustainable design certification and features a passive ventilation system, lighting and temperature sensors, and low-flow water fixtures. The architect for the facility was Joseph Wong Design Associates.
Reckitt Benckiser (RB) will begin building the $155 million Global Centre for Scientific Excellence in spring of 2016. Located in Hull in the United Kingdom, the 140,000-sf project will provide R&D labs and testing suites for healthcare product development. An adjacent energy center utilizing sustainable technologies will also be constructed.
Nasa Ames Research Center is planning to construct a life biosciences laboratory in Moffett Field, Calif. The two-story, 40,000-sf facility will provide 19,000 sf of BSL-2 wet labs and support and 21,000 sf of office and conference space. With a project cost of up to $60 million, the fumehood-rich building will include procedure rooms, a radiation lab, environmental rooms, and a tissue culture suite. LEED Silver or Gold sustainable design certification will be sought for the laboratory.
Near net-zero energy usage is achievable for laboratory buildings only by employing a holistic approach that examines how all the available energy-saving technologies work together before focusing on a few, high-impact concepts. These concepts not only reduce energy costs by 50 percent or more, but also can significantly reduce upfront costs. Employed piecemeal, however, they can backfire.
Winthrop-University Hospital opened the $110 million Research and Academic Center in February of 2015 in Mineola, N.Y. Designed by Perkins Eastman, the five-story, 95,000-sf facility will support translational research on pediatric and adult diabetes in conjunction with patient care and community education. The center provides classrooms, a clinical trials center, a simulation training suite, a 350-seat auditorium, and core labs for the study of diabetes, obesity, cardiopulmonary disease, and neurology.
Apple is planning to invest $2 billion to develop a global data center headquarters in Mesa, Ariz. The project involves building out an existing 1.3 million-sf manufacturing facility and the completed structure will be powered entirely by sustainable energy sources.
The University of San Diego is building the $18 million Betty & Bob Beyster Institute for Nursing Research, Advanced Practice, and Simulation. Ground was broken on the three-story, 30,000-sf building in May of 2014 and completion is expected in fall of 2015. Designed by gkkworks in association with The S/L/A/M Collaborative, the facility will house classrooms, faculty offices, three research units, the Dickinson Simulation and Standardized Patient Nursing Center, and the Krause Doctoral Research Library and Study.
The University of Chicago’s two-story, 2,450-sf Warren Woods Ecological Field Station is the first Passive House-certified laboratory in North America and only the fifth in the world. “Passive House” standards achieve minimal energy usage for heating and cooling, despite the presence of a minus-80-degree-Celsius freezer, plant growth chambers, an incubator, and tools for DNA extraction, all of which generate a lot of heat, coupled with a humid environment and a high level of occupancy by researchers.
