Ideal growth conditions for the FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center

Industry: Biotechnology / pharmaceuticals; User: FIZ Frankfurter Innovationszentrum Biotechnologie GmbH, Frankfurt

The future needs space! In a public-private partnership, the State of Hesse, the City of Frankfurt and the Frankfurt Chamber of Industry and Commerce issued a request for proposals for the FIZ Frankfurt Biotechnology Innovation Center with laboratory, machine and communications rooms. Bidders were asked to design and construct advanced, automated buildings that offered maximum flexibility for personalizing working environments. One challenge was particularly exciting: The facility's future tenants and their requirements were not known during the design and construction phase, so the solutions had to be creative and versatile from the start.

We had produced another compelling design concept and so were hired as the general contractor for the second stage of construction, too. Our multifunctional module design perfectly satisfied the operator's need for flexibility and made another contribution to this successful cutting-edge project.

The bottom line

Rooms designed for the future and flexibility: The plan was implemented within 15 short months of construction for the first construction stage and 19 months for the second. In record time, we had built a highly flexible research environment containing GMP-compliant units and labs rated to strict biotechnology safety levels (S3). Best of all, we factored in facility-management requirements during the design phase so the building could be run cost-effectively over the long term. The tenants are reportedly thrilled by the facility's architectural quality and technical capabilities, including the standardized and yet highly flexible lab arrangement.

Infraserv Höchst's services

	• General contractor with responsibility for budgeting and scheduling the project's design and realization • Designing the building complex with architects • Planning building services and tenant-specific improvements • Coordinating and commissioning all building services • Coordinating compliance with the occupational-safety and -health requirements of the Construction-Site Ordinance (BaustellV) • Sampling and disposing of excavated soil Timeframe First construction stage Planning: September 2002 to February 2003 Construction, installation incl. laboratory equipment, also tenant-specific: November 2002 to March 2004 Initial tenant move-in: April 2004 Second construction stage Planning: September 2006 to May 2007 Construction, installation incl. laboratory equipment, also tenant-specific: May 2007 to December 2008 (handover to the owner on schedule in October 2008) Initial tenant move-in: start of 2009