The Brown Corporation authorized a process to select an architect and launch a full programming phase for the building, a critical step in a long-held vision to create new laboratory space for cutting-edge life sciences research.
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - With approval to proceed with selecting an architect, Brown University has taken a critical first step toward realizing a long-held vision for a new integrated life sciences building in Providence's Jewelry District neighborhood.
As envisioned, the facility would provide state-of-the-art laboratory space for researchers in biology, medicine, brain science, bioengineering, public health and other disciplines to work together on pressing health-related issues. A location in the Jewelry District would offer researchers the proximity to enable close collaboration with scientists and physicians at Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School, the School of Public Health, the School of Engineering and the University's affiliated hospital partners.
A vote by the Committee on Budget and Finance of the Corporation of Brown University, the University's governing body, at its meeting in May authorized the selection process to identify an architect for a new building. This launches an extensive programming phase to assess factors ranging from space needs and site requirements to conceptual design and projected scale and scope, as well as estimated project costs and funding sources.
Brown President Christina H. Paxson noted that the goal of new life sciences space in the Jewelry District dates back to Building on Distinction, a 10-year strategic plan launched in 2014 to build on Brown's excellence, and the BrownTogether comprehensive fundraising campaign commenced a year later to advance support for the plan's priorities.
"By fostering interdisciplinary research in the biological and life sciences and biomedical engineering to address major societal burdens ranging from aging and associated diseases - cancer and brain disorders - to infectious diseases like malaria, Brown scientists, physicians and scholars are at the leading edge of work toward new discoveries and solutions that impact lives here in Rhode Island and across the globe," Paxson said. "Our goal is to advance that positive impact even further. As we begin planning for a major new facility in Providence that will enable integration across fields of expertise, we look forward to innovative life sciences breakthroughs for generations to come."
With the approval to select an architect, Brown will engage in a years-long process toward planning, locating, designing and building the facility. Architect selection itself is expected to take three to six months. And while a target timeline for the full project would emerge during the overall planning process, the University estimates construction completion in the range of four to five years.
