Reserve Labs is a three-building life science campus overlooking San Diego’s picturesque Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve. The renewed campus provides a modern building design surrounded by unspoiled views of nature. Suites ranging in size from 10,000 square feet to 23,000 square feet provide flexible lab-office suites featuring balconies, roll-up doors, renovated restrooms, and high ceilings. An amenities courtyard sits in the center of the campus, providing lounge seating and nooks for a tranquil lunch, a covered deck with display screen for outdoor meetings, event lawn, and food truck patio.
Centerpark Labs is a vibrant life science campus designed to foster connections and innovation among scientists and researchers. FPBA and HGA teamed up with Longfellow Real Estate Partners to carry out the project in multiple phases. The campus consists of 200,000 square feet of conversions and renovations across nine existing buildings. The team designed exterior and site upgrades to the existing buildings to craft a seamless campus identity. At the center of the revitalized campus is a hub of amenities including a buzzing canteen bar & lounge area, conference room, state-of-the-art fitness center complete with a cycling studio, taproom, and refreshing poke restaurant—Hawaiian Fresh Seafood—which serves island cuisine with a large selection of seafood on display. Stepping outside, a vibrant mural painted by a local artist brightens up the corridor between two buildings. A variety of shaded seating areas offer space for dining and relaxation.
The SDSU Mission Valley Innovation District, master planned for 1.6 million square feet, will enable the university and its partners to help people expand their livelihoods, create new career pathways, expand the region’s capabilities, and design new solutions to important problems facing the community and the world. FPBA, alongside LPC West, was selected to deliver the first phase of the Innovation District as part of SDSU’s first public-private partnership (P3). This three-building, 350,000-square-foot project—featuring an all mass-timber amenities building—will provide leading-edge facilities for research and innovation, a business incubator and accelerator space, and other workforce development opportunities. Amenities on-site include a fitness center, cafe, conference center, and penthouse events space overlooking Snapdragon Stadium. On-site and off-site parking structures will support the development and stadium events with over 1,100 stalls. The buildings will feature a diverse range of suites and spaces to accommodate various program types, from coworking incubator labs to mid-sized office suites and larger anchor tenants. This is critical to providing collaborative research partnerships, attracting first-rate employers, and enabling more opportunities for public engagement and interaction with private industry partners.
iBio, Inc is an AI-driven biotech company and a leader in epitope-steered antibody discovery. The company is tackling complex and challenging therapeutic targets, with the goal of developing safer and more effective immunotherapies. They envision a world where drug discovery is not left to chance but guided by artificial intelligence to make drug development smarter, more precise, and ultimately faster. FPBA worked with developer Longfellow Real Estate and iBio to design a lab-office suite at the SOVA Science District. The existing suite was an office space with ceilings under 8 feet. FPBA, the engineers and contractor collaborated to find a solution that would maximize the height in the new laboratory. Wedging the ductwork between joists allowed for a more spacious setting. Overhead utilities and mobile furniture allow for easy reconfiguration and flexibility for future changes.
Scripps Research advances scientific understanding, educates the scientists of tomorrow and impacts human health across the globe. Its researchers lead breakthrough studies that address the world’s most pressing health concerns. FPBA provided schematic design through construction administration for a gnotobiotic suite including a BSL-2 room and clean protocol for entry. The existing space was originally a parking garage with a sloped floor and 9-foot floor-to-floor height. The team tackled this challenge by designing a lower ceiling around the perimeter of the main suite to fit mechanical equipment above the ceiling. This layout maximized the ceiling height in the center of the room to accommodate lab equipment. FPBA worked with Scripps Research and the contractor to minimize disruption to ongoing operations. Large equipment was moved into the space before the completion of the wall build. FPBA used Matterport 3D to capture the space at various points during construction and create virtual tours. This provided a visual to share with end users and streamlined field visits and punch list items.
FPBA partnered with Create Capital Partners, a San Diego-based real estate investor, to reposition an office building in Sorrento Mesa for life science. The 20,000-square-foot speculative suite with a 50/50 lab-to-office ratio includes a main lab and support rooms, open and private office space, conference rooms and a break room. The space maximizes glass for visibility between the lab and office, with booth seating that offers a relaxing lounge space for both staff and visitors to use. Geometric elements create eye-catching focal points throughout the design. The building was fully leased by a therapeutics company prior to completion of the speculative improvements. FPBA pivoted to integrate improvements to suit their specific scientific processes.
Juno Diagnostics is a biotechnology company that develops accessible and affordable prenatal screening tests. The company leased space at Longfellow Real Estate’s SOVA Science District campus to expand their testing capabilities. FPBA had previously designed speculative lab-office improvements for Longfellow. When Juno leased the suite, FPBA worked with them to customize the design to their scientific process. In order to assure accurate test results for their customers, Juno required separate lab areas for various stages to avoid contamination. The resulting lab configuration supports an efficient workflow from shipping & receiving through processing and analyzing the samples. A pass-through window between two labs allows for safe transfer of samples from one stage to the next. Open and private offices, conference rooms and a break room fill out the remaining the space.
Debut Biotech is dedicated to unlocking natural ingredients through sustainable, cell-free biomanufacturing. After raising more than $22 million in financing, the company set out to scale up and commercialize the ingredients it develops by expanding its footprint in San Diego. FPBA worked with developer Longfellow Real Estate and Debut to design a lab-office suite that connects to an existing area already occupied by Debut at the SOVA Science District. FPBA provided detailed programming to help Debut define design criteria for the lab and office areas, fitting the program within the available space and accommodating specialty equipment such as bioreactors and incubators. The main lab utilizes mobile casework and ceiling utility connections to allow for future reconfigurations. The open office environment features flexible workstations and huddle areas with acoustic ceilings dispersed throughout. The mezzanine level houses additional offices and a group of conference rooms that serve both the new suite and existing adjacent suite.
Prometheus Biosciences is focused on discovering and developing novel therapeutics and companion diagnostic products for the treatment of immune-mediated diseases such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). After going public and doubling in staff, Prometheus relocated from Sorrento Mesa to the Muse at Torrey Pines campus to allow for continued growth. FPBA worked with Prometheus to convert warm shell space into a lab-office suite with labs, open and private offices, a large breakroom, conference room, and huddle areas. An open work environment that promotes interaction and idea sharing was important to Prometheus. The resulting design minimizes partitions and uses glass walls throughout. Glass spans the perimeter of the main lab, revealing beautiful Torrey Pines views and allowing light to flow through the suite. The breakroom and conference room are distinguished by ceilings of converging wood beams interspersed with linear lighting. FPBA is working with Prometheus on a second phase of development to expand their space to an additional floor.
Watkins Wellness is the world’s leading manufacturer of hot tubs and aquatic fitness products. FPBA has worked with the company to refresh its existing facility in Vista through several phases of tenant improvements. After renovating lab, office and showroom areas in a first phase of work, the team brought the new design standard to three breakrooms and 12 restrooms in a second phase of upgrades. Aligning with the design from the previous phase, FPBA integrated a mixture of wood tones and bright colors with playful furniture and lighting to create energizing spaces. In the largest breakroom, FPBA used various design elements to split up the space into different zones. Wood slats and acoustic fins surround the kitchen area, while lounge seating and a yellow mesh ceiling denote the gaming and rec area. In the smaller break rooms, FPBA took inspiration from Watkins Wellness’ spa manufacturing line. Linear lights meander across the ceiling to emulate the production line in an abstract form. The team completed the project under a tight timeline so that the space could be used for a large company event. Ultimately, the upgraded breakrooms reflect Watkins Wellness’ award-winning company culture and have been well-received by employees.