1. Research Buildings 2006
Rensselaer Center for Biotechnology
and
Interdisciplinary Studies
Robert E. Palazzo, PhD, Director
Boston, May 2006
Tradeline Inc.
6. Project Timeline and Cost
April 2001 Programming start
June 2001 Design start
May 2002 Construction start
Nov 2004 Completion
Total design time: 16 mos.
Total construction time: 21 mos.
Construction Cost: $70,000,000
$321 /Sq. Ft.
7. Project Team
Owner– RensselaerPolytechnic Institute
Architect – Burt Hill KosarRittelmann Assoc.
Assoc. Architect – Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Lab Programmer– Research Facilities Design
MEPEngineering – Burt Hill KosarRittelmann, Assoc.
Structural Engineering – Ryan Biggs Associates
Landscape Architects – Burt Hill KosarRittelmann, Assoc.
Site Civil – Claugh Harbour
Construction Manager– McCarthy
CaseworkInstallation Company- Northeast InteriorSystems
Fume Hood and Metal CaseworkCompany- Jamestown Metal Products
Flexible and Adaptable Caseworkand OverhearService Carrier– Case Systems
Mechanical Contractor– Tougher
Electrical Contractor- LaCort
8. The Constellation Concept
• Biotechnology AND Interdisciplinary
Research
– The research is organized by focus areas or
Centers of Excellence and specifically NOT by
discipline.
– Some Constellations have as many as 6
disciplines working together.
– The Center was intended to bring
Rensselaer’s already prodigious reputation in
Science, Engineering, Computer Science and
Biomedical Engineering research to the
Biotechnology arena
9. The Tertiary Lab Concept
• General Research Labs
• Support Labs
• Core Labs
10. The Tertiary Lab Concept
• General Research Labs
– Very open, very flexible, easily rearranged by
the research staff.
– Overhead service modules to allow freedom of
work surfaces below. Much work is done with
equipment that is not benchtop apparatus.
– Indirect lighting allows researchers to work
anywhere in the lab without creating shadows.
– Little need for partitioning.
11. The Tertiary Lab Concept
• The Support Lab
– Houses those functions that are either
equipment or process specific.
– Allows the sharing of more expensive or
seldom used apparatus by the entire
Constellation.
– Contains those activities and equipment that
would likely be an impediment to flexibility if
they occurred within the General Research
Labs.
12. The Tertiary Lab Concept
• The Core Labs
– Labs which support the entire Center.
– Contains the most expensive equipment.
– Contains equipment that require specialized
skills to operate not usually held by most
researchers. (NMR, X-ray Crystallography
etc.).
– Includes central services such as; Vivarium,
Glass wash, autoclaves, fermenters, etc.
13. Lab Management
• The Constellation Concept and the Tertiary Lab
Concept require a substantially different lab
management approach than the traditional individual
PI Grant management methods.
– A strong lab manager and staff are needed
– Support Lab and Core Lab equipment is not “owned”
by a PI. It is owned by the Institute and furnished to
many PI’s on a “Fee-for-Service” basis.
– Cleaning, calibration, maintenance, ordering
accessories etc. is done by the lab manager.
– The PI’s must have confidence in the lab management
staff’s competence to provide high quality support.
14. Lab Management
• The Constellation Concept and the Tertiary
Lab Concept require a substantially different
lab management approach than the traditional
individual PI Grant management methods.
– Research grant writing is trending away from
the individual PI toward a “Center of
Excellence” or research team effort. Hence
the Constellation structure. This is partially in
response to the research funding policy trends
of major funding sources such as NSF and
NIH.
15. Constellations
• Functional Tissue Engineering
• Integrative Systems Biology
• Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
• Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering
16. Research Laboratory Focus Areas:
Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering
Biocomputation and Bioinformatics
Integrative Systems Biology
Functional Tissue Engineering and Regenerative
Medicine
Biology and Biochemistry
Biochemistry and Biophysics
Nanobiotechnology
Biochips and Microsystems
Bioimaging and Bioinstrumentation
17. CBIS Personnel
• Staff – 5
• Core directors – 3
• Faculty – 27 (assistant professors – 13)
• Grad students/research personnel – 191
• Undergrads – 46
• Total – 237
– Average personnel per faculty – 8.78
– Average personnel per assoc/full professor – 9.43
– Average personnel per assistant professor – 8.08
• Total building capacity – 460
18. Lab Areas
Gross Building (without mech. equip. penthouse) 202,025 sqft
Net (Assignable) Building 126,754 sqft
Net/Gross Ratio 0.63
Laboratory and Laboratory Support 73,787 sqft
Laboratory and Laboratory Support/Gross Building 0.37
Laboratory Support 24,104 sqft
Laboratory Support/ Laboratory & Laboratory Support 0.33
Laboratory Planning Module 10'-8" x 29'-5"
19. Lab Areas
Open Research Labs 31,240 sqft
Support Labs 13,009 sqft
Core 27,350 sqft
Seminar 5,831 sqft
Offices 33,124 sqft
Auditorium 5,027 sqft
Net Assignable 115,581 sqft
Note that the total support labs plus core
labs are 129% of the general research
labs. This ratio continues to increase.
22. Office Areas
Typical Office Area 160 Sqft
Total number of Offices 147 offices
Total Office Area 33,124 sqft
Office Space allocation:
Principle Investigator – 160 sqft – (1 PI per office)
Post Doctorate – 80 sqft per person – (2 Post Doc per office)
Graduate Student – 60 sqft per person – (4 GA’s per office)
23. Office Areas
• The mix of PI’s, post-doc’s, graduate
assistants within the Constellation can
change substantially. To accommodate this
changing mix, ONE office module size of 160
S.F. was selected. It can house; one PI, two
post-docs, or four GA’s.
• Traditional methods of office planning that
use some hierarchical method of assigning
office space based on rank or title are
antithetical to efficient flexibility.
30. RensselaerCBIS
Flexible Lab Bench space
• Biocatalysis and Metabolic Engineering
• Biocomputation and Bioinformatics
• Integrative Systems Biology
• Functional Tissue Engineering and
Regenerative Medicine
40. Shared Core Research
Facilities:
Analytical Biochemistry
Histology Core
Zebra fish Facility
Microbiology
Microscopy and Imaging Suite
MolecularBiology
Tissue Engineering and Cell Culture Facility
Biocomputation
Proteomics Suite
Glass wash and Autoclaves
High-Throughput Screening Facility
800 MHz NMRfacility ( Space exists fora 900 MHz
magnet)
Various Spectroscopy techniques.
X-ray Crystallography
46. Interactive Spaces
The Centerhas a very carefully developed
hierarchy of interactive orcollaboration
spaces.
– Atrium
– Auditorium
– Conference center
– Oxbridge Rooms
– Conference Rooms
– OutdoorForum
– Lobby Gathering Spaces
– Breakout Areas
47. Interactive Spaces
• Interactive spaces are arguably the most
important spaces in a lab building. They
must be planned and programmed.
• Labs are the spaces where ideas or
discoveries may occur.
• Interactive spaces are where discoveries are;
– Discussed
– Challenged
– Added-to
– Matured
– Combined
– Defended
80. Data
Power (110v and 220 single and three phase)
Up-lighting fixtures
Lab Gas (natural gas)
Nitrogen (N2)
Lab Air
Future Gasses
Overhead Service Carrier
81. Overhead Servic e Carrier
RensselaerPolytechnicInstitute
BiotechnologyandInterdiciplinaryStudiesBuilding
Number Size Cost (schedule of value) L&M
2 10'-0" 20 Lin ft
54 14'-0" 756 Lin ft
2 18'-0" 36 Lin ft
Total 812 Lin ft $519,600.00
Cost per lineal Foot $639.90
Overhead Service
Carrier
