Return to Office: Accommodating a Paradigm Shift

by Janet Morra During the early days of the pandemic, we collectively embraced the notion that once vaccines became available, things would return to a “new normal,” and a mass return to the office would follow. In reality, the hybrid work environment – long a staple in certain high-tech industries and made possible through advancements…

Lab Design: The Equipment Factor

by Jess Hamilton One thing that all laboratories have in common is that the scientific functions within them are equipment driven. Equipment can range in size from small, tabletop vortexers, microfuges, scales, or even handheld pipetters to space-intensive items such as freezers, anaerobic chambers, fume or biosafety hoods, automation robotics, or custom equipment. Whether the…

Repositioning Office to Lab: A Winning Formula

20 Overland Street / Rendering courtesy of Margulies Perruzzi by Caitlin D. Greenwood Boston’s Fenway neighborhood has become an “eds and meds” neighborhood and a hub for life science companies. This is due largely to the presence of nine colleges and universities and proximity to the adjacent Longwood Medical and Academic Area, home to 21…

Workplace Decisions: Should We Stay or Should We Go?

By Jenna Meyers  |  September 22, 2023 There are many factors that prompt a company to begin thinking about whether they should stay in their current space or move. Chief among them is an impending lease expiration; significant changes in staff size; the need to cut costs; or a merger, acquisition, or consolidation. A common…

Women in Construction: Susan Shelby, President & CEO, Rhino PR

Women in Construction Susan Shelby, FSMPS, CPSM, ABCP President and CEO Rhino PR Susan Shelby’s career in public relations began 28 years ago in the competitive marketplace of high-tech. When the dot com bubble burst in 2001, her career path diverged into the architecture, engineering, and construction (A/E/C) industry. A 2004 layoff inspired Susan to…

Transforming a Former Postal Facility into a World-Class cGMP Development and Manufacturing Facility

by Jeff Kent POST at 200 Smith Street in Waltham, Mass. is a former U.S. post office repositioned into a 430,000sf office and lab building on a 36-acre campus. DPS Group and TRIA designed a new development and cGMP manufacturing facility for ElevateBio, a technology-driven company focused on powering cell and gene therapies for the…

Specifying Healthy Building Materials in School Design and Construction

by Tina Stanislaski A pilot program by the Massachusetts School Building Authority (MSBA) was launched with the objective of reducing toxic chemicals found in common building materials and furnishings that have been linked to human health issues, including cancer. Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School, a $305 million, 410,000sf facility that will open to grades 9-12 in…

The Science of Mitigating Supply-Chain Challenges

by Alvaro Ribeiro The impact of a global pandemic on the complex, interconnected nature of supply chains has quite literally brought home to us how fragile that infrastructure is in today’s global economy. While there are signs of recovery, it is impossible to predict the availability of commonplace products, let alone highly specialized building materials…