Biomedical Research Facility update

A new animal housing and care facility is being constructed at Western University, with the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry managing the overall planning and construction.

The new building project is being undertaken as the existing facilities are no longer able to meet the needs of researchers or regulatory standards. As part of a realignment of responsibility, Schulich Medicine & Dentistry will also assume oversight and management of animal care for investigators within these facilities.

Planning for the facility has been underway since the fall of 2016 and it is expected that the new facility will open in 2021.

HDR Architecture Associates along with the engineering firms Vanderwesten & Rutherford Associates and HH-Angus have been selected for the project and the design phase is already underway.

Several working groups comprised of researchers, Animal Care and Veterinary Services staff and Schulich Medicine & Dentistry staff are actively engaged with providing input on building programming, with completion of the design anticipated in early 2019.

No buildings are being demolished or renovated to support the development of this new facility. Assessment of the potential building site is underway, with this likely to be located between the Siebens Drake Building and West Valley Building. It will be approximately 50,000 gross square feet, of which approximately 50 per cent is net assignable space, including support, housing and procedure space.

An information session is scheduled for June 6 at 1:00 pm in Room 282, Medical Sciences Building to provide an update to the research community and to seek additional input. In the meantime, comments and questions should be directed to either Dr. Jane Rylett or Kevin Inchley.