Nova Southeastern University (NSU) has opened the Center for Collaborative Research (CCR) on its main campus in Davie, Florida.

Opened in September, the new facility is one of the biggest in Florida and it brings together researchers, students, and industries to work at one location by pooling resources.

Funded through NSU’s own reserves and tax-exempt financing, the $100m facility will help in the development of new solutions in specific areas such as healthcare, bioinformatics, technology, cyber security, and business.

Construction of the facility, which began in February 2014, generated more than 300 jobs, while 150 research jobs were generated after completion.

The new research centre has achieved Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver certification and is pursuing LEED Gold certification from the US Green Building Council.

Centre for collaborative research design and structure

The new collaborative research centre is a six-floor building with a total area of 215,000ft². A 130in (10.8ft)-tall tower with a dome on top marks the entrance of the building.

The building is designed with a capability to withstand a live load of 125 per square feet. It was constructed with a modular and flexible design and features microscope laboratories, which are vibration-sensitive.

A deep foundation system, consisting of auger-cast concrete piles, was constructed to support the structure.

The floor systems are made of strong concrete beams and mild concrete slabs. The lateral wind-resisting systems of the facility feature both concrete shear walls and a concrete frame.

Facilities at NSU’s research centre

The research centre houses class A wet and dry laboratories with wet labs occupying an area of 60,000ft². Sufficient wet lab space is available for leasing to private biotech and life sciences companies.

The centre accommodates a number of research institutes such as the Autonation Institute for breast and solid tumour cancer research, Cell Therapy Institute (in partnership with karolinska institutet researchers), and a technology incubator.

In addition, it houses the Institute for Natural and Ocean Sciences Research, Institute for Neuro-Immune Medicine, Rumbaugh-Goodwin Institute for Cancer Research, and Emil Buehler Research Center for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) occupies the first floor of CCR’s building. USGS will collaborate with NSU to carry out inter-disciplinary research comprising Everglades restoration efforts, hydrology, and water resources.

The facility will also provide access to IBM supercomputer Megalodon and connectivity to Florida LambdaRail, a high-speed broadband network.

Contractors involved with NSU’s centre

ACAI Associates was contracted to provide architectural services for the facility, while construction service ANF Group was the general / construction contractor. RGD served as the consulting engineer.

TRC Worldwide Engineering was awarded a $26m-worth contract to provide engineering design, construction, and inspection services for the project, while Crawford-Tracey was responsible for the installation of its Pro-Tech 7SG curtain wall.