In sharp contrast to other types of commercial real estate, the life sciences market is booming, according to SGA, an architecture firm based in Boston and New York that has extensive experience designing life sciences buildings. “There’s increased demand to deliver life sciences towers in dense urban environments,” Brooks Slocum, SGA’s studio director, writes in a blog post.
But while cities need these buildings, urban environments pose a fundamental challenge: “In the past, opportunities to build labs in places like New York City were limited by the lack of square footage on the ground,” Slocum writes.
Traditionally, life sciences buildings have been low-rise facilities. SGA thinks that doesn’t have to be the case.
SGA has designed a prototype complex it calls the Vertical Cluster, a proposed 24-story, 750,000-square-foot tower with wet and dry labs. Reflecting local zoning and building codes, the vertical tower can stack diverse programming needs typically found in horizontal life-sciences complexes.
Slocum describes the tower as essentially comprising multiple shorter buildings stacked on top of each other. “Every 10 or 12 floors, we ‘separate’ the building by putting in multi-floor mechanical zones.” This not only isolates the mechanical zones but also avoids overburdening the building with ventilation shafts running from the bottom of the building to the top. This approach allows SGA to design life sciences facilities as tall as zoning allows.
There’s a widespread misconception, according to Slocum, that all lab building exhaust must be moved to a building’s roof. That results in shafts becoming progressively larger on higher floors—with a corresponding reduction in rentable space. But it’s only the exhaust from fume hoods that’s contaminated and requires rooftop exhaust. Most of the air in a lab building comes from the offices—and that air can be recirculated via the mechanical zones.
“With proper design, we can plan the upper floors to have more rentable area available to tenants than on the lower floors, not less,” Slocum writes.
Related Stories
Office Buildings | Jun 28, 2023
When office-to-residential conversion works
The cost and design challenges involved with office-to-residential conversions can be daunting; designers need to devise creative uses to fully utilize the space.
Multifamily Housing | Jun 28, 2023
Sutton Tower, an 80-story multifamily development, completes construction in Manhattan’s Midtown East
In Manhattan’s Midtown East, the construction of Sutton Tower, an 80-story residential building, has been completed. Located in the Sutton Place neighborhood, the tower offers 120 for-sale residences, with the first move-ins scheduled for this summer. The project was designed by Thomas Juul-Hansen and developed by Gamma Real Estate and JVP Management. Lendlease, the general contractor, started construction in 2018.
Apartments | Jun 27, 2023
Dallas high-rise multifamily tower is first in state to receive WELL Gold certification
HALL Arts Residences, 28-story luxury residential high-rise in the Dallas Arts District, recently became the first high-rise multifamily tower in Texas to receive WELL Gold Certification, a designation issued by the International WELL Building Institute. The HKS-designed condominium tower was designed with numerous wellness details.
K-12 Schools | May 25, 2023
From net zero to net positive in K-12 schools
Perkins Eastman’s pursuit of healthy, net positive schools goes beyond environmental health; it targets all who work, teach, and learn inside them.
Office Buildings | May 15, 2023
Sixteen-story office tower will use 40% less energy than an average NYC office building
This month marks the completion of a new 16-story office tower that is being promoted as New York City’s most sustainable office structure. That boast is backed by an innovative HVAC system that features geothermal wells, dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) units, radiant heating and cooling, and a sophisticated control system to ensure that the elements work optimally together.
Office Buildings | May 4, 2023
In Southern California, a former industrial zone continues to revitalize with an award-winning office property
In Culver City, Calif., Del Amo Construction, a construction company based in Southern California, has completed the adaptive reuse of 3516 Schaefer St, a new office property. 3516 Schaefer is located in Culver City’s redeveloped Hayden Tract neighborhood, a former industrial zone that has become a technology and corporate hub.
Mass Timber | May 3, 2023
Gensler-designed mid-rise will be Houston’s first mass timber commercial office building
A Houston project plans to achieve two firsts: the city’s first mass timber commercial office project, and the state of Texas’s first commercial office building targeting net zero energy operational carbon upon completion next year. Framework @ Block 10 is owned and managed by Hicks Ventures, a Houston-based development company.
| Apr 28, 2023
$1 billion mixed-use multifamily development will add 1,200 units to South Florida market
A giant $1 billion residential project, The District in Davie, will bring 1.6 million sf of new Class A residential apartments to the hot South Florida market. Located near Ft. Lauderdale and greater Miami, the development will include 36,000 sf of restaurants and retail space. The development will also provide 1.1 million sf of access controlled onsite parking with 2,650 parking spaces.
Mixed-Use | Apr 27, 2023
New Jersey turns a brownfield site into Steel Tech, a 3.3-acre mixed-use development
In Jersey City, N.J., a 3.3-acre redevelopment project called Steel Tech will turn a brownfield site into a mixed-use residential high-rise building, a community center, two public plazas, and a business incubator facility. Steel Tech received site plan approval in recent weeks.
Multifamily Housing | Apr 19, 2023
Austin’s historic Rainey Street welcomes a new neighbor: a 48-story mixed-used residential tower
Austin’s historic Rainey Street is welcoming a new neighbor. The Paseo, a 48-story mixed-used residential tower, will bring 557 apartments and two levels of retail to the popular Austin entertainment district, known for houses that have been converted into bungalow bars and restaurants.