Project Description
By the summer of 2014, the agricultural research company, AgBiome, was quickly running out of space in the building they had been occupying at the Research Triangle Foundation’s Park Research Center. AgBiome’s need for additional laboratory space occurred as the Research Triangle Foundation had completed a new master plan and was rebranding the campus as ‘The Lab’. The foundation put together a design-build team that included Barnhill Contracting Company, Integrated Design, and Falcon Engineers. Team members brought together their many years of research laboratory experience to design and build a new signature building with an adjacent research greenhouse. The 25,000 SF building features extensive open office spaces on the north side with floor to ceiling windows and clerestory lighting from above. The south side of the building contains eight interconnected laboratory spaces and a core of equipment rooms. A canopy connects the laboratory and office spaces to the 5,000 SF research greenhouse. The chambers are fully climate controlled, allowing different crops and experiments to be conducted without cross contamination. Having an on-site greenhouse compliments research being conducted at university greenhouses 20 miles away from the facility. Construction on both buildings was completed in seven months despite difficult weather challenges, including times of extreme heat and extensive rainfall. It is expected that this new laboratory building will set the tone and expectations for future redevelopment of ‘The Lab’.