Genomics

Global pharmaceutical manufacturer Lonza began construction in April of 2016 on a 100,000-sf facility in Pearland, Texas. Featuring a fully segregated fill/finish suite, the project will include eight independent cGMP modular cleanrooms with single-use bioreactors for the production of viral gene and virally modified therapeutics. Grade-B cleanrooms will also be constructed to continue the manufacture of EMA-regulated cell therapy products. Operations are expected to begin at the site in mid-2017.

The University of Utah broke ground in late March of 2016 on the $55 million Gary & Ann Crocker Science Center in Salt Lake City. Providing interdisciplinary science labs, lecture halls, classrooms, an atrium, and a business incubator, the four-story facility will house the Center for Cell and Genome Science and the Center for Science and Math Education. The 123,500-sf project includes renovation of the existing 71,000-sf George Thomas building and construction of a 52,500-sf addition.

A backlog of construction, renovations, and upgrades may finally come to life, thanks to the $2 billion increase in NIH funding Congress approved in December, the first increase in more than 12 years. More than 80 percent of the $32 billion NIH budget is dedicated to extramural research—research outside the NIH itself—meaning that an additional $1.6 billion in research grants will be made available this year.

Sanford Health began building the $30 million Edith Sanford Breast Center in fall of 2015 in Sioux Falls, S.D. Designed by Architecture Incorporated, the three-story, 48,000-sf facility will provide space for clinical trials, a core lab for genomics research, a biobank, a multidisciplinary conference center, and a comprehensive range of services including mammography and surgery. The project includes 27,000 sf of renovated space in the adjoining Sanford Cancer Center and 58,000 sf of new construction.

The Advanced Medical Research Institute of Canada (AMRIC) broke ground in December of 2015 on a CAD$12 million biomedical laboratory in Sudbury, Ontario. The project involves the conversion of an existing building into a 14,000-sf research facility to support the discovery and development of innovative therapies for a variety of diseases and conditions, with a special focus on personalized medicine. Completion is expected in 2017.

An explosion in computation and large data set analyses is challenging the nature and processes of translational research, significantly impacting how such institutions plan for space needs. The link between strategic planning, programming, and design is much more dynamic, and requires faster feedback and the development of new metrics to drive value creation through strategic planning.

"That increase in computation has a significant impact on how we strategically plan for translational research,” says Andy Snyder, AIA, principal/architect at NBBJ.

Illumina is expanding its San Diego operations with the development of a 300,000-sf facility for the production of technologies for genetic analysis. Designed by Ewing Cole, the project will create advanced manufacturing space, laboratories, offices, warehousing, and support. BNBuilders is providing both pre-construction and construction services for the interior buildout of the facility as well as the expansion of the central plant. Completion is expected in late 2016.

The Jackson Laboratory (JAX) is planning a $75 million mouse production facility in Ellsworth, Maine. The project involves the complete renovation of an existing 143,000-sf building to create advanced vivarium space for the breeding and housing of mice for genetic research. The facility will consolidate all of JAX’s East Coast production operations in a single location, enabling the company’s Bar Harbor campus to provide additional research, education, and conference space.

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.

The 89,700-sf, seven-story expansion of the Wistar Institute increases research space from 30 to 45 labs, with new support areas, including tissue culture rooms, fume hood alcoves, equipment alcoves, and a shared cold room. Each of the five lab floors contains an open-plan research lab for four professors and their research teams of 35 to 40 to work collaboratively on cancer research, genetics, and vaccine development. Flexible, moveable lab benches will accommodate changing research needs.

Inova Health is acquiring a 117-acre campus in Merrifield, Va., as the site for a new biomedical research complex called the Center for Personalized Health. The first phase of construction will create the Inova Translational Medicine Institute and the Inova Comprehensive Cancer and Research Institute. The $200 million, 180,000-sf project is slated for occupancy by early 2018. Existing facilities on the campus will be renovated to provide advanced laboratory space for collaborative genomics research.

The University of Utah will renovate the existing 71,000-sf George Thomas building to create the Gary & Ann Crocker Science Center in Salt Lake City. The existing structure will be seismically upgraded and reconfigured, and a 52,500-sf addition will be built to accommodate laboratories for the Cell and Genome Research Center. The completed four-story, 123,500-sf facility will also provide lecture halls, classrooms, a café, a business incubator, and a full-height atrium. The project team includes EDA Architects and Okland Construction.

The Jackson Laboratory will begin construction in 2015 on the $21 million Center for Biometric Analysis in Bar Harbor, Maine. Supporting research on the genetic origins of disease, the four-story, 16,000-sf facility will house advanced technologies for imaging, measurement, gene sequencing, and data processing. The estimated duration of construction is 18 months.

Dalhousie University opened the Zebrafish Core Facility in October of 2014 in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Located in the Life Sciences Research Institute, the $1.8 million laboratory will support interdisciplinary biomedical research on cancer, neuroscience, and genetics. Housing up to 75,000 adult fish, the 4,000-sf facility features a molecular lab and specialized rooms for cell and tissue studies.

The four-story Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine (JAX GM), containing both biological and computational lab space arranged around a central atrium, houses 160 biomedical researchers, technicians, and support staff from five different temporary spaces on the University of Connecticut Health Center campus. The number of occupants is expected to grow to 300 within three years, and the labs are flexible enough to accommodate the expected trend away from the wet bench toward more computational research.