Construction of the Louis A Simpson and Kimberly K Querrey Biomedical Research Centre at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, Illinois, began in May 2015.
The research centre is named after Louis A Simpson and his wife, Kimberly K Querrey, who are Northwestern University trustees and alumni.
Recommended White Papers
Recommended Buyers Guides
The facility is expected to be opened for operations in late 2018. It is designed to encourage research excellence, create venture space and generate startup companies and scientific discoveries to save lives and improve health.
Details of the biomedical research facility at Northwestern University
The research centre will be situated in a 12-storey building with a 600,000ft² total floor space. It will have nine floors of laboratory space containing complex equipment.
Each of the laboratory’s floors will have a 40,000ft² floor space designed to be used for expediting the pace of discoveries and heightening the collaborative nature of advanced research.
The laboratory floors will include flexible blocks known as ‘neighbourhoods’, which will accommodate teams of six to nine researchers. The neighbourhoods will also include offices for principal investigators, as well as formal and informal meeting spaces.
The Louis A Simpson and Kimberly K Querrey Biomedical Research Centre is being built to replace the Prentice Women’s Hospital in Chicago. The building will be connected to the adjacent Robert H Lurie Medical Research Centre.
The research centre will offer new research opportunities for high-quality research faculty, PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, as well as medical students, residents and clinical fellows. It will also lead Northwestern University’s research facilities and will be a hub for the ‘world-class’ research and development enterprises that attract innovation and entrepreneurship.
The facility will create more than 2,000 jobs during its construction phase and more than 2,500 permanent and full-time jobs thereafter. It is also expected to generate around $3.9bn in future economic activity in Chicago.
Contractors involved in the project
US-based architect Perkins and Will Architects was chosen to design the biomedical research centre building in December 2013. The designs were provided by Ralph Johnson, global design director of Perkins and Will.
Financing for the project
The total investment for the construction of the biomedical research facility is estimated at $117.8m.
In March 2014, Mr Simpson and Ms Querrey gifted $25m for the facility’s construction through the Querrey Simpson Charitable Foundation. The couple later contributed an additional $92m in March 2015.
Sustainability profile of the Northwestern University biomedical research facility
The biomedical research facility will be built with the aim of achieving a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver rating from the US Green Building Council.
The building will feature a curved glass exterior and a sunny winter garden area to allow natural light into the building.
