Confidential Gene Therapy Client

HEADQUARTERS CONSOLIDATION AND GMP MANUFACTURING

• The project consisted of creating drawings for a facility that will house Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) manufacturing space, research and development laboratories, office/administration space, loading dock/support facilities, a freezer farm, a GMP warehouse, and an ambient warehouse for a Gene Therapy manufacturer.
• The client contracted us to design MEP/FA/FP/IT/AV/Sec systems, a new Building Management System (BMS), and an Energy Management System (EMS). We developed control components and sequences of operation for the new manufacturing suites, research and development lab spaces, and administration areas.
• A challenging schedule. The facility needed to be built out by a specific date to meet lease agreements. Our team worked closely with the architectural team to size MEP systems as they determined where the space would be built in the building, the total space programming, and the final layout.
• The GMP space included supply and return corridors, a cell culture suite, an upstream suite, a downstream suite, and a fill suite.
• The problem we were addressing was creating a space that fulfilled the project’s requirements while staying within the required project budget. The design team encountered challenges in selecting the appropriate mechanical system to meet tight specifications and design conditions while reusing as much existing pre-purchased equipment as possible.
• In close coordination with trade partners, it was a significant value engineering effort before finalizing the design to modify the mechanical systems and bring the project back within budget.
• To reduce costs, we explored innovative solutions, such as temporarily renting a generator and planning for the future installation of a permanent one when additional funding becomes available.
• This is a unique project because while the client had limited funding for day one, the engineering and design team needed to provide provisions for future expansion and incorporate day-end capacities on certain systems.
• We also designed this project for GMP validation, so incorporating those requirements into a design with a very tight schedule and budget constraints added another layer of complexity.