WuXi Advanced Therapies (ATU)’s R400 Testing Laboratory Building
A wholly owned subsidiary of WuXi AppTec, WuXi Advanced Therapies (ATU)’s R400 Testing Laboratory Building marks the company’s fourth facility at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Named for its location at 400 Rouse Boulevard, the LEED Gold Certified R400 includes 140,000 sf of laboratories, offices, and GMP warehouse space to enhance the company’s contract testing, development, and manufacturing organization (CTDMO) business model. The design and construction project involved tailoring the landlord’s base core and shell and designing a phased interior fit-out that incorporates targeted flexibility into building systems infrastructure, testing laboratory design, and accommodations for future growth.
Phase 1 of the project included the first-floor lobby; conference rooms; and virology, mycoplasma, and microbiology laboratories; along with the warehouse and facility support spaces.
Phase 2 fit-out the entire second floor and parts of the first and third floors with molecular biology, quality control (QC), quality assurance (QA), environmental monitoring, and stability laboratories; and administrative areas including offices, conference rooms, huddle rooms, phone booths, and a kitchen/breakroom.
Precis provided evaluation and detailed design of complete mechanical, electrical, plumbing (MEP), and fire protection systems. Key components of the project included incoming site utility demand and locations, and MEP systems distribution. Location of rooftop mechanical equipment, including air-handling units, coordination of scope and installation of site-based elements, such as concrete pads for outdoor tanks (CO2, and LN2), emergency generators, and transformers were also part of the project’s scope. Engineering features of the project included centralized mechanical systems via rooftop dunnage, highly efficient building systems to support energy efficiency, and balanced vertical and horizontal distribution.
Images © Jeffrey Totaro Photographer
Hankin Group – Speculative Lab Building
Precis provided architecture and engineering master planning services to Hankin Group, a family-owned real estate development firm, for a three-story, multi-tenant speculative laboratory building for multiple life science tenants involved in the drug discovery process from laboratory-based research through early stage (pilot scale) manufacturing.
The building will be located on a prominent site at the entrance to Eagleview, a mixed-use development community,
located in the Philadelphia suburb of Exton, Pennsylvania.
Single- and multi-tenant concept layouts were developed for general research, gene and cell therapy, therapeutics, and contract research organizations. The building’s floor plate accommodates requirements for physical segregation, chain of custody, and biosafety level (BSL) segregation of suites, waste streams, and product flows.
The proposed site totals ~17.8 acres. Grading allows for basement level access on the building’s south side. Floor plates, excluding the basement, range from 40,000 to 43,500 sf each.
Eisai Co., Ltd. – Pilot Plant
Eisai Co., Ltd. (formerly Morphotek) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on research and development for the treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. The award-winning building was designed for the production of biologics to support early-stage clinical trials. The project involved master planning, architecture, and engineering design services for the 60,000-sf cGMP pilot plant to support manufacturing of advanced therapeutics. The use of BIM software enabled advanced coordination, team communication, and project organization.
The project began with demolition of three existing buildings and construction of the new facility, which includes the pilot plant, laboratories, and office space. Integrated architecture and engineering yielded a facility that marries form and function. A unidirectional circulation and viewing corridor maximizes building area dedicated to production. A mechanical catwalk rings the production core and provides access to all building systems for ventilation and maintenance. Dual fixed and disposable technology offer flexibility in manufacturing. Natural light permeates most of the building, including office and laboratory areas. The building offers 85.2 percent efficiency, with full systems redundancy, and enables complete segregation of production spaces in the event of a failure or contamination.
Sustainable design and operational features of the project resulted in LEED Gold Certification, and the project was recognized as an ISPE Facility of the Year Sustainability Category winner. The plant is 30 percent more water efficient, 33.2 percent more energy efficient, and offers a 90 percent more efficient HVAC system compared to a standard pharmaceutical facility. A rooftop solar array includes 330 photovoltaic panels that generate enough annual electricity to power six U.S. houses for a year.
The award-winning project was completed $3 million under budget in 18 months.
Images © Don Pearse Photographers, Inc.
Frontage Laboratories, Inc. – Sierra Drive Fit-Out
Frontage Laboratories is a global pharmaceutical development organization (PDO) advancing drug discovery and development. Precis provided architecture and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and process engineering design services for the relocation and expansion of Frontage’s existing pilot scale production facility into a new building. The expansion was designed to support Phase I and Phase II Clinical Products.
Design for the fit-out encompassed approximately 46,000 sf. A non-sterile area includes five ISO 8 processing suites for multi-product processing of non-sterile products, including oral solid dosage (OSD), ointments, liquids, etc. A sterile area consists of two sterile filling suites for multi-product processing of sterile products into vials, syringes, and bottles. Each filling suite is ISO 7 with an interior ISO 5 area for filling. Additional ISO 7 spaces included sterile equipment staging and material (MAL) and personnel (PAL) airlocks. A potent compound area consists of two potent suites for occupational exposure band (OEB) Category 3 – occupational exposure limit (OEL) 50 to 100 ug/m3 compounds. The suite has unidirectional MAL and PAL airlocks with a misting shower for PAL out. Support areas include analytical and microbiology labs, equipment wash, clean equipment staging, a GMP warehouse, mechanical rooms, and offices.
During the design phase, the shell of the space was under construction, resulting in an early underground/slab package being issued to keep the construction team progressing. Long-lead equipment specifications were identified and fast-tracked for early procurement. These early packages enabled the design team to develop the detailed design while the construction team concurrently procured the long-lead equipment and installed underground plumbing.
J.M. Huber Corporation – Miller Chemical Innovation Center
Precis provided architecture and full engineering services along with civil and structural engineering consultants to create a new state-of-the-art innovation center for J.M. Huber, a provider of industrial and consumer products.
The new, ground-up construction is the first phase of a master planning effort that involved a holistic campus concept redesign. The Miller Chemical Innovation Center will be home to three new research and development laboratories with innovative technology and equipment for the company’s fertilizer manufacturing business. In addition to labs, the center includes offices and conference rooms, an open kitchen and break area, soft seating and display areas for client interaction and company collaboration, a 1,150-sf greenhouse adjacent to an open working wet lab, and outdoor layout areas and workspaces. The building has a number of sustainable building elements such as natural daylighting, energy efficient fixtures and equipment, rain harvesting for plant irrigation, and a small green roof area. It also utilizes a number of green building products on the interior and exterior, including products manufactured by J.M. Huber.
Arbutus Biopharma – North American R&D Headquarters
Arbutus Biopharma Corporation is a publicly traded Canadian biopharmaceutical company. Arbutus relocated its North American research and development headquarters to a new facility in Warminster, Pennsylvania. The 30,000-sf facility includes office and lab spaces to accommodate the emerging biotech company’s expanding operations.
To help facilitate the new development, Precis provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection engineering services, working closely with the project team during the design/build and construction administration phases. The design included separate, but adjacent, chemistry and biology labs that allow the scientists to work closely together while maintaining necessary procedural separation. The biology labs were designed to Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) guidelines. Precis provided design for higher-capacity water, natural gas, and power utility services; new air-handling units, exhaust fans, hot water boilers, a data center unit, associated ductwork and piping distribution; a new emergency generator; lighting, power and data distribution, and fire alarm devices; centralized water purification, air compressor, and laboratory gas manifolds; and a sophisticated building automation system (BAS) to support the new laboratories and offices.
The team completed the construction under budget and on schedule in the Spring of 2017. The project won the 2017 Restoration/Renovation – Under $10 Million Construction Excellence Award from the Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) Eastern Pennsylvania Chapter.
Images © Halkin | Mason Photography
Veltek – Aseptic Filling Operations and Lab Space
Precis provided full architectural and mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and process engineering design services for the multi-phase renovation and expansion of the existing Veltek facility in Exton, Pennsylvania. Veltek is a global manufacturer of clean room cleaning products.
Currently occupied primarily by laboratory and office space, the new facility is used to prepare chemicals that support multiple cleaning, sterilization, and disinfectant products. Phase 1 of the project included the addition of a new 15,000-sf ISO 5 clean room production area along with the construction of packaging, warehousing, H-3/H-4 high-hazard storage and analytical lab spaces.
The project included master planning the site for future expansion, and the evaluation and detailed design of complete architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems. Key components of the project include mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection systems distribution, including designing and locating rooftop mechanical air handling equipment, emergency generators, transformers, liquid nitrogen supply, and process gas systems, and design of process material handling systems.
Images © RVOiii Photography
Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing – Lab Expansion
The Jefferson Institute for Bioprocessing (JIB) is the first specialized North American institute for biopharmaceutical processing with single-use processing equipment. Precis helped JIB evaluate various expansion options prior to defining an optimal approach that addressed training and research needs within the cost parameters of the organization. The expansion project converted approximately 5,000 sf of office space within the existing facility to laboratory space that expanded JIB’s already functioning Flex Factory.
A new analytical lab provides a full complement of research and testing capabilities along with nine lab trainee workstations. One gene therapy lab and three cell therapy labs support JIB’s process development programs. Planned for flexible operations, this cell and gene therapy lab suite is designed and constructed to Biosafety Level 2 (BSL-2) standards as required with cell culture research. New HVAC systems were provided to support the strict lab requirements, and the area incorporated flush, cleanable finishes to promote lab cleanliness.
The expansion enhances JIB’s well-regarded presence and serves to further project JIB’s influence throughout the regional life science and biotech community.
Century Therapeutics – Corporate Headquarters + Laboratory Consolidation Fit-Out
Precis provided mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fire protection (MEP/FP) engineering services in support of an 80,000-sf corporate headquarters and laboratory consolidation fit-out for Century Therapeutics, a biotechnology company that engages in the development of genetically engineered allogeneic cell therapies for the treatment of solid tumor and hematological malignancies.
The project scope encompassed the 11th, 12th and 13th floors of the One uCity Square building in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The space is occupied by 60 percent general laboratory space and 40 percent office, amenity, and circulation space. The program included corporate headquarters administrative and showcase customer areas; analytical, quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC), and product development laboratories; and laboratory support functions.
The engineering scope included review of existing utility systems to determine the adequacy of the existing base building electrical service, HVAC, sanitary, and plumbing utilities to support the new lab and office layouts. System upgrades were performed based on the initial review. Construction administration services were also provided.
National Refrigerants, Inc. – New Flammables Packaging and Storage Building
Precis provided architectural and mechanical, electrical, fire protection, plumbing, structural, and civil engineering design services for a packaging and storage building for National Refrigerants (NRI). The new building needed to include approximately 25,000 sf for flammable packaging and approximately 75,000 sf for flammable product storage. The building was designed and constructed to meet hazardous occupancy requirements as dictated by the building code for handling of flammable materials.
Design features included one flammable can line and three flammable packaging lines; outside storage tanks plus additional space for expansion; ISO storage area and storage racking; warehouse and administrative offices and restroom facilities; recovery lab and GCs; foundations for a gas house shed, bulk storage tank, and FT/WT structures; HVAC rooftop units; miscellaneous piping supports between the new building and bulk storage area; fire protection, including on-site fire water storage tank, pump house, riser room, and sprinkler systems; approximately 10 loading docks with doors, bumpers, and dock plates; and stormwater management and erosion and sediment control.
