Browsing: Life Sciences

The life sciences sector is one of the fastest growing and most complex areas in construction today. With advancements in biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, and medical research, the demand for state-of-the-art laboratories, manufacturing facilities, and flexible research spaces continues to surge.

By 2020, life sciences facilities were on the rise. Enter the pandemic, and the urgent need for vaccine research & development labs and manufacturing facilities created a spike in life sciences construction. However, with less emphasis on vaccine development and a subsequent cooling of that spike, many geographic regions now find themselves grappling with a saturated market.

Columbia University will soon begin construction on New York City’s first all-electric academic research building. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF), the 80,700-sf building for the university’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons will provide eight floors of biomedical research and lab facilities as well as symposium and community engagement spaces.

As the life sciences sector has exploded in recent years, developers have jumped at the opportunity to repurpose commercial office space and other buildings for research and office space. But another type of life sciences facility is emerging—and bringing with it a new set of real estate requirements and expertise.