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SBRI Building
Challenges:
- To help Seattle Biomedical Research Institute (SBRI) realize a dream through the construction of a new world-class research facility that would allow the organization to double its research capabilities and recruit world-class scientists. The new facility would also allow SBRI, which focuses solely on curing the world's deadliest diseases, including malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, to accelerate its rate of discovery for new vaccines and treatments, improving health globally.
- As a non-profit, it was important that the new facility be constructed in a fiscally responsible manner without sacrificing quality. It was also important to SBRI to be an ownership partner in the building, to construct a sustainable building and to design a building that would allow the biotech organization to interact with the community.
Strategies:
- Design and construct a building with flexibility, high-tech support and room for expansion.
- Find a secondary tenant that could share resources, ideas and facilities with SBRI.
- Create a community-friendly street edge that is animated, appealing and educational.
- Construct the facility on time and on budget.
- Employ sustainable design and construction practices.
Results:
- The state-of-the-art research and lab portion was designed to accommodate the special needs of a world-class research institution. The design allows for flexible lab accommodations, and the floors are built to hold 50 percent more weight than traditional office buildings (to hold heavy research equipment).
- The SBRI Building is a trailblazer, as one of our region's first commercial-sector LEED projects testing the Shell & Core Pilot LEED program feasibility. It has been designed as an energy- and water-efficient building that will qualify for a Silver LEED rating from the U.S. Green Building Council and will qualify as one of the first silver-level LEED-certified laboratory buildings in the nation. It will also be Seattle's first LEED-certified speculative building.
- 47,000 square feet was leased to Children's Hospital, an organization conducting research on diseases that afflict children around the world. SBRI and Children's share common meeting areas, laboratory support services and spaces.
- A new science gallery for BioQuest, SBRI's science education program for high school students, is located on the first floor of the building. Created as a "community living room for life sciences," the gallery features artistic exhibits to educate visitors and the community at large about the importance of improving global health. The BioQuest science gallery, which will be open to the community, will serve as a window into the life-saving science SBRI conducts upstairs. A new hands-on lab for BioQuest will also be located on the first floor of the building, adjacent to the science gallery. Last year, BioQuest served more than 500 students in the Northwest, and the new space will give SBRI the opportunity to double the number of students involved in the program. Both the BioQuest lab and gallery face Westlake Avenue, giving passersby the opportunity to observe science in action.
- Ground-level retail was incorporated into the building in order to activate the streetscape. The corner storefront, which has been reserved for restaurant use, has been finished with reclaimed redwood and an operable wall to allow for open-air seating, creating a sense of pedestrian intimacy on the sidewalk.
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