With nowhere to build on its own land, Brown University turned a former watch factory at 70 Ship St. in Providence, R.I., into 100,000 square feet of biomedical research space.
Faced last year with the challenge of adding 100,000 square feet of biomedical research space, Brown University found the answer in a 100-year-old former watch factory in downtown Providence.
Like many institutions, Brown had a number of hurdles to overcome in its effort to find laboratory space. These challenges included a fixed budget, the need to be flexible, its own high standards, and a short timeframe: the facility needed to be ready for the fall 2004 semester.
Brown also lacked space to build on campus, so the university had to turn elsewhere. Brown acquired a six-story former manufacturing building in Providence’s Jewelry District that had been built in the early 1900s and that once housed a Speidel watch factory. Using a design-build contract, Brown designed and fitted out the facility in little more than one year, and delivered the completed space in time for the fall 2004 deadline. The advanced laboratory research environment not only met Brown’s challenges and standards, it also helped revitalize an urban area by putting a vacant building to good use.
As the life-sciences industry continues to grow within the metropolitan Boston area, it’s consuming the existing lab space in the market. New space is needed. Constructing a new building seems to provide the easiest path to acquiring new laboratory and research space, but the process can take a long time to complete. If the laboratory space is needed quickly, converting an existing building into laboratory space is often the solution.
There are several good reasons for companies in need of laboratory space to consider conversion over new construction. Here are some of them:
Cost Savings
Converting an existing building into a lab can cost much less than building a new facility. New buildings also require a more rigorous permitting process, including zoning and a public review period. But a conversion can go through the permitting process more quickly and save money. Existing manufacturing buildings are generally located in areas already zoned for laboratory use, as was the case with Brown’s project.
In addition, conversions generally require little or no exterior alterations. Therefore, objections from local residents are often minimized, as the landscape of the community is not being changed.
Shorter Design Time
Since the building and its footprint already exist, the design phase for conversions is typically shorter than it is with new construction. The construction and design team’s energy is focused on making the building and its associated footprint as efficient as possible. In fact, once an existing building is acquired, the fit-out can begin immediately – demolition can start even before the drawings are finalized.
Effortless ‘Green’
If sustainable or “green” building practices are a priority, the reuse of an existing building grants “easy” points toward LEED certification, which can help the overall project achieve its LEED rating goal. .
Key Conversion Considerations
Not all buildings are good candidates for efficient and cost-effective lab conversion. Here are some things to consider when looking for a “lab-ready” site:
• Floor-to-floor height: A building must have a floor-to-floor height greater than a typical office building, which is usually close to 12 feet. Ideally, a lab should have a floor-to-floor height of 14 feet to 15 feet to accommodate the extensive ductwork and mechanical components above the ceiling.
• Structural support: The spacing of the building columns must be compatible with an efficient lab module layout. A maze of columns closely spaced does not lend itself to an efficient lab space.
• Load accommodation: It is not uncommon for old industrial or manufacturing buildings to have concrete frames that typically accommodate the heavy live and dead loads associated with a lab fit-out. A concrete frame is also good for minimizing vibrations, an important feature in a lab building.
• Mechanical systems: Some buildings may have an adequate existing HVAC and electrical system that can be supplemented to meet lab requirements. Others may require the time and expense of installing new systems. Also, labs often require additional systems not found in other types of buildings, such as emergency power, specialty gases, RO/DI water, security, and high-capacity telephony and data systems, among others.
• Mechanical penthouse: Adequate space is needed to house the large amount of mechanical equipment associated with a lab facility. This equipment includes large air-handling units, numerous exhaust fans, an emergency generator, and cooling towers, among other equipment. Typically, this equipment is installed in a large mechanical penthouse. If the building cannot accommodate a penthouse, equipment can be located on the roof. Whether in a penthouse or on the roof, the structural capacity of the building must be confirmed to be adequate to support the equipment. There also needs to be adequate floor space for this equipment.
• Speed to market: A vacant, gutted building with a clean floor plate is ideally suited to allow for an immediate start to construction, helping the building get to market as quickly as possible.
• Good access: Of less importance, but still a consideration, is good shipping and receiving access. Old manufacturing buildings often have quality access.
In addition, companies and institutions in the market for lab space should consider a design-build process. This can accelerate the typical project schedule by overlapping design and construction activities. For example, Brown University would have added another nine months to its project had it followed the traditional design-bid-build approach. This would have pushed occupancy into the 2005 school year. Through the collaborative process of design-build, the project team can assess an existing building and design a new laboratory facility as quickly and as cost effectively as possible.
