Millipore Corp.’s new research and development center in Bedford.

The rapid advances in biotechnology, R&D, research tools, technology, and manufacturing as well as changes in life and work styles have led to new design challenges for biotech and pharmaceutical facilities.

In addition to offering both group and individual work spaces, these facilities must also foster collaboration between researchers. Companies must find appropriate site and space solutions in order to not only accommodate growth but also retain and recruit talent in this fast-paced industry. All of these challenges call for detailed and careful real estate and facility strategies.

A first and important step in any successful real estate decision for a given site is master planning, which is more than simply deciding where to place buildings on a site. The key to the creation of an efficient science facility is to take a holistic approach, grounded on a thorough understanding of the company’s needs and consideration of the institution’s campus and corporate culture.

Master planning is essential to better define a particular project, while meeting an institution’s long-term strategic goals.

Different Needs

Facility requirements for biotech companies differ from those of office or manufacturing facilities. Biotech companies have to go through a rigorous process before their products can hit the market. It requires collaboration among various teams at virtually all stages of research and development.

In such cases, a flexible and collaborative work environment is highly desirable.

Facilities must provide flexibility to expand or resize an operation or accommodate new technologies. Security, structural, air quality, waste treatment and power requirements and the need for containment or ultra clean environments may be additional factors to consider.

Integrating these into a well-designed and coherent facility requires a collaborative team effort between a carefully selected group of client representatives, architects, engineers and contractors.

A recent example of a successful research and development project is Millipore’s New R&D Center. For this extensive endeavor, Millipore – a bioprocess and bioscience firm – and ARC – an architectural, planning and interior design firm – worked together to turn this objective into reality, while adhering to a highly aggressive project schedule.

Bedford Building

Millipore wanted to improve its six-building R&D campus within the constraints of an existing wooded park-like setting, while planning for future expansion of its research facilities. The process began with a comprehensive master planning study of its Bedford campus that called for fundamental organizational changes resulting in increased capacity without adding to the total square footage of the campus.

The master plan consisted of 225,000 square feet of new lab and office space to be built in two phases. Buildings were sited to take maximum advantage of the park-like setting. This first step was to remove two existing buildings in phases to make way for the new R&D center. Soon after, renovations to an adjacent building completed Phase I and defined a new courtyard. Additionally, the development of a new pond and nature trail ensures that landscape now plays an integral role in the campus plan.

This first building – a new R&D Center – has since become the centerpiece of a revived campus, resulting in the integration of a wide range of laboratory types into a more flexible, open and efficient facility.

Right Space

The design emphasizes ease of communication with the proximity of open office areas adjacent to labs, as well as centrally located breakout-meeting spaces that facilitate interaction, encourage collaboration among employees, and enhance the relationships between various research groups. This building represents Millipore’s stepped-up research and development efforts and underscores the importance of product development to the company’s future. The new Bedford R&D campus today allows some 500 employees to advance their research with the right tools and the right space to innovate in the bioscience and bioprocess industry.

Millipore’s and ARC’s joint master planning efforts were crucial to bringing Millipore’s renewed campus to life. As part of this process, the following program considerations were explored:

• Research relationships and complementary adjacencies

• Program identification and organization by function as well as by department

• Reorganization and reinforcement of adjacencies to foster collaboration

• High space-utilization by consolidation and reduction of redundancies in program areas and equipment

One Step At A Time

In order to minimize disruption to Millipore’s ongoing operations in their existing buildings, the design team carefully studied and evaluated the benefits and opportunities offered by phased construction. A detailed work plan for design and construction of the project’s first phase was then implemented for occupancy in the fall of 2006. Phase II is currently under evaluation.

Millipore’s New Research and Development Center is a prime example of how sound master planning can lead to the optimum use of land and the design of appropriate buildings. The $50 million facility enables Millipore to leverage cutting edge technologies, further extending its applications expertise and positioning the company to meet the growing demands of the global biopharmaceutical market and the life sciences industry.

Additionally, energy consumption in the new building is considerably lower because the master plan highlighted the opportunity to create an efficient central utility plant.

This highly functional center also enables Millipore to attract the best talent and bring together multiple research disciplines in order to better develop integrated solutions. Thanks to the success of the master plan, Millipore’s new campus meets current needs, addresses future growth, and most importantly, enables the company to realize its long-term strategic goals to their full potential.