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70 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / MARCH 2015
T his summer in Aurora the Fitzsimons
Redevelopment Authority will open
the doors on its state-of-the-art re-
search/academic building, Bioscience
2. The new 112,000-square-foot facility, located on
Montview Boulevard at the heart of the Fitzsi-
mons Innovation Campus, will house laboratory
and office space for the University of Colorado in
addition to private-sector tenants. Conceived by a
partnership between the FRA and CU, Bioscience
2 will prove to be the new model for interprofes-
sional education and corporate collaboration, by
combining research, business, and education under
one roof.
The evolution of laboratory space and infrastruc-
ture is ever changing. Bioscience 2 provides 21st cen-
tury laboratory spaces, while allowing for future flexi-
bility and change. Building electrical and mechanical
systems have been designed to accommodate today’s
need with ample capacity for the uncertainties of to-
morrow. Pathways for infrastructure have been care-
fully coordinated in anticipation of the unforeseen
future.
The development process of Bioscience 2 mim-
ics the built result. Saunders Construction and MOA
Architecture were contracted as a design-build part-
nership, along with the Wells Partnership as owner’s
representative, in delivering the vision the FRA and
CU shared. The design team employed an integrated
project delivery model in which a multitude of design
options were tested very early in conceptual design.
Decisions such as vibration criteria of structural frame
for sensitive laboratory equipment, or where to place
exhaust fans to gain greatest energy efficiency, were
carefully studied. Cost of design options and alterna-
tives were assessed based upon life-cycle cost analysis
and anticipated payback period duration. Thorough
assessment of building systems in “leaving no stone
unturned” drove the design direction of Bioscience 2.
Sustainability is an important value that is cap-
Brian Konczak
Senior Project
Manager,
MOA
Architecture