Sorrento Therapeutics is an antibody-centric, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of safe and effective immunotherapies for oncology and autoimmune/inflammation diseases. The company’s acquisition of several companies drove the need to expand its facilities and bring these acquisitions under one roof in a leased 75,000-square-foot building. The project included renovation of existing labs, offices and a lobby, along with new designs for labs, offices, a vivarium, a lunch room, a lunch patio and a board room. Sorrento’s scientific groups included bacteria, infectious disease, oncology/immunology, TNK, LA Cell, and chemistry, some of which were new groups within the company. Ferguson Pape Baldwin Architects worked closely with these groups to establish a common lab module that would meet their specific needs but also be flexible for groups to expand and share space as they grow within two large open laboratories. This included the chemistry lab, which required segregation for safety and contamination control. FPBA assisted with capturing equipment information for legacy equipment coming from several different locations and consolidated shared equipment in centrally located support rooms to save space and money. The project was constructed in three phases on a fast-track schedule with successive occupancy dates. FPBA coordinated the approvals for this phasing with the building officials using a single set of permit drawings and obtained the permit in just four weeks to complete design and start construction ahead of schedule.
The La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology is a private biomedical research institute located in UC San Diego’s Science Research Park. The South Shell Lab Build-Out project consists of 6,000 square feet of flexible laboratory space for biomedical research, including a tissue culture lab, principal investigator offices and a lab technician office area. The project improved upon the existing building lab standards by testing multiple laboratory layouts and implementing lessons learned from past projects. The space’s open lab environment encourages a collaborative work environment.
As a 7,500-square-foot program component for the design of a larger cytology and oncology diagnostic facility, Genoptix required a certified CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments) laboratory. Criteria included conformance to CDC’s Standards and Certification: Laboratory Requirements (42 CFR 493) issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), with particular design attention to criteria in Section 493.111, Facilities Administration. The design solution was coordinated with laboratory managers to ensure sample flows were uni-directional within the CLIA labs, that space planning segregated this function from other testing operations to avoid cross-contamination and that relative air pressurization and filtration was appropriate to the diagnostic procedures. CLIA inspections and subsequent certification were completed and achieved in Q4 2013.
Significant exterior and interior upgrades were designed by FPBA to BioMed Realty Trust’s facility at Road to the Cure, a 1980s vintage building located in La Jolla, California. The 68,000-square-foot building was completely renovated to include four upgraded laboratory spaces that take maximum advantage of both natural light and the landscaped views outdoors. Reconfigured laboratory suites respond to a variety of tenant needs to allow for maximum flexibility as end-user requirements evolve. The new conference center with contemporary audio visual capabilities is expandable to the exterior where outside meeting and gathering areas are carefully integrated with new landscape and site enhancements. The building’s exterior areas were designed as direct extensions of the interior upgrades, with new canopies visually expanding from the base building. The new technology-based fitness center provides tenants a welcome opportunity to enjoy physical activities away from their desk at any time during the day.
As Ligand’s business has matured, it has developed a commitment to highly collaborative work environments. Ligand wanted to leverage that transition into an extremely open and highly flexible office and laboratory environment with an emphasis on interaction space, unstructured work environments and leading edge use of wireless electronic communication. As a tenant improvement in an existing building, Ligand wanted to elevate its design yet create a good companion to the balance of the facility. Working closely with the shell architects, FPBA carried common area finishes into the lobby and transitioned to Ligand-specific materials within its space. To meet the needs of both Ligand and the landlord, interior walls were modularized and employed demountable partitions including sliding doors, back-painted glass, fabric acoustical panels, vision lights and AV chases all within one system. This allowed both Ligand and potential future tenants to readily reconfigure the interiors as needs and standards evolve.
