Vivarium Supported Research and Discovery – Vivarium Planning and Design

Richard Kalish, AIA, Jacobs Consultancy
Gregory Cha Fong, ZGF Architects

The University of Minnesota has established the goal to become one of the top three public research institutions in the world within the next decade. BDD is one of these projects developed to support this goal. BDD is an acronym for Biomedical Discovery District, so called because of the heterogeneous research programs contained within a single building, as well the building's location on an urban campus in a complex of science research and academic facilities. BDD will contain Cancer and Cardiovascular research programs, most of which (as well as other research programs in the campus area) utilize mouse models to test and advance their research. The key resource for this process is a research support core of animal housing, imaging, and procedure space, known as a vivarium. Specific spatial and programmatic needs for the mice and 13 overlapping areas of cardiovascular research manifest in the building through an interconnected network of research and support, with the vivarium at its core. The building was planned to allow the vivarium to support Mouse Genetics Lab, Cellular Imaging, Small Animal Imaging, Biomedical Genomics Center, and Flo-Cytometry. The vivarium is directly accessible to all Cancer and Cardiology programs in the building, as well as to other academic and research facilities located in the surrounding East gateway district on campus.

Rick Kalish will discuss the programmatic and logistical requirements to support mouse models. Allyn Stellmacher will discuss the relationship of the vivarium to the broader research community and its ability to support not only the mice and the science, but also the scientists and their ideas.

Biographies:

As Principal, Richard Kalish is responsible for laboratory programming and design consulting services for institutional, corporate, and governmental clientele. Located in our Solana Beach, CA. office, Richard is an expert at developing innovative, practical laboratory planning solutions for clients throughout the United States. With twenty-seven years of experience as an architect and laboratory planner, Richard integrates the design of the laboratory to the working environment of each user group. Mr. Kalish's expertise includes undergraduate science facilities, institutional research laboratories, and local and federal government facilities. Before GPR, Richard worked for two nationally recognized laboratory design consulting firms: Earl Walls & Associates and McLellan & Copenhagen.

Biography not available for Gregory Cha Fong.

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