Kansas Bioscience Park—Building on the Legacy of Kansas Pioneers

Michelle Gangel, AIA, LEED® AP, PGAV Architects
Galen Lif, AIA, LEED AP, PGAV Architects

In 2008, PGAV Architects was selected to design a new office and incubator laboratory building for the Kansas Bioscience Authority (KBA). The KBA was created by the Kansas Economic Growth Act of 2004 with the sole purpose of advancing the state's leadership in bioscience research, innovation, and industry.

The establishment and support of the KBA is the state's largest-ever commitment to the burgeoning biosciences industry with the intent that the initiative will elevate Kansas as a bioscience hub and attract industry that will support professional job creation for generations to come.

The stated mission of KBA is to build facilities to support world-class research, foster the formation and growth of bioscience startup firms, support expansion of the state’s bioscience clusters, facilitate expansion of the bioscience industry, and attract existing bioscience firms to Kansas. KBA realized that, in order to fulfill this mission, its own offices should embody the same core values. Additionally, this project was developed with the goal of achieving a Silver rating or better on the U.S. Green Building Council's LEED NC 2.2 rating system.

Located on a 2.12-acre site in Olathe, Kansas, as the first building on the KBA campus, it will establish the architectural context for the entire park. In this 39,720-square-foot facility, the central focus was high-quality tenant office space and flexible laboratories that can be leased individually or in small increments. The laboratories could also be grouped to form larger business blocks as the tenant company matures. Likewise, tenants will typically begin with only a single office area and grow to three or four staff members before graduating from the incubator building. Tenant offices and support spaces also must be flexible enough to accommodate a tenant’s changing needs.

Locating the KBA headquarters offices within the incubator facility will allow the staff to interact with the tenants and further enhance the goals of KBA to help the tenant companies succeed in their goals.

Successful incubators are designed to enhance tenant interaction and collaboration and this project is no exception. This collaboration occurs in work areas such as shared laboratory equipment rooms, break room, and informal huddle rooms that can be configured as needed. The incubator will also include additional indoor and exterior collaboration spaces that add to the marketability of the facility and user comfort.

Construction began in December 2009 and will continue through February 2011. The building should be ready to occupy in March 2011.

Biographies:

Michelle Gangel has dedicated her professional life to the creation of spaces for learning, research, exploration, and collaboration. Her project experience over the past 16 years with PGAV includes academic and research laboratories throughout the Midwest and has always been guided by her deep commitment to sustainability.

She serves as the project manager for the Kansas Bioscience Venture Accelerator, overseeing the programming and design of the facility.

Ms. Gangel earned her designation as a LEED Accredited Professional in 2003, but a commitment to sustainable design has always been a part of what she considers her responsibility as a design professional.

She is largely responsible for the creation of PGAV’s best practices and is a charter member of the VISION group within the firm—dedicated to educating, inspiring, and enabling every member of the firm to make informed decisions and lead the project team toward sustainability.

Ms. Gangel is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the U.S. Green Building Council.

Galen Lif is a senior project architect with PGAV Architects and specializes in the design and delivery of highly efficient research facilities. Since early 2009, he has been serving as an integral team member on the Kansas Bioscience Park Venture Accelerator; he has been heavily involved in every aspect of the facility’s design from skin to laboratories, led the design documentation phase in Revit, and is now leading the construction administration effort.

Mr. Lif thrives on complex challenges and leading the project team through the design and construction process. His true strength lies in presenting a clear and consistent vision for the project while attending to countless details.

An American Institute of Architects (AIA) LEED AP, he is a member of AIA and the U.S. Green Building Council, and is currently serving on the AIA Missouri Board. He earned his Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Kansas and has a total of 21 years of design and construction experience. Prior to becoming an architect, he spent 13 years as a civil engineering designer, working on transportation and stormwater management projects.