Research & Development Consolidation Project | Brisbane, California

Located at Sierra Point in Brisbane, the 154,000 sq.-ft Research and Development project accommodates 400 researchers and staff and consists of two buildings, each with four floors and a connecting bridge.

The Research and Development Consolidation project brings together research facilities, an innovation center, offices, employee amenities, multi-purpose gathering spaces, and support spaces into one central location. This facility will conduct research around gene and RNA therapies, experimental treatments for infectious and retinal diseases, and focus on digital health and data science.

The design of the fit-out encourages interaction and thought sharing between researchers, who are traditionally siloed, in a creative and informal environment where workplace and community spaces are directly adjacent to the research laboratories.

Energy efficiency was one of the driving factors for the project. Sustainability strategies focused on reducing the energy demands of the lab spaces in both building wings. Key strategies included:

• A high-performance exterior envelope maximizes daylight penetration, minimizing heat gains and losses.
• High-efficiency systems to reduce airflow necessary for cooling.
• Efficient LED lighting systems to reduce energy demands, and a daylight dimming system will turn off lights when there is sufficient natural daylight.
• High-efficiency chilled beams provide heating and cooling for the office areas.

DPR worked closely with Jacobs to define measurable acceptance criteria for the scope of work to enhance predictability in outcomes and minimize the need for rework.

DPR's team established a Target Value Design process, where the budget was adopted and allocated to individual building systems. The continuous estimating approach allowed the team to proactively address design changes at each project milestone. This further developed the DPR and Jacobs partnership by fostering a more efficient and responsive project delivery framework.