According to Payette, the firm has garnered two new commissions to partner with university institutions planning for future research needs.
The first commission is a group of three research buildings for the National University of Ireland, Galway, reflecting the university's new phase of academic development and physical expansion for its 15,000 students. Slated for completion in 2010, the buildings include an 86,112 s/f Science Research Building, a 38,750 s/f Translational Research Facility and a 58,856 s/f Humanities and Social Sciences Research Library. The projects are being planned in tandem to address and repair how visitors navigate and experience the entire university campus. Payette is teamed with Anthony Reddy Associates of Dublin.
The two firms are also collaborating on the development of the Adare Specialty Hospital and Clinic in County Limerick, a 72-bed hospital being planned as part of a larger medical education campus.
The second commission is a 140,000 s/f research building for Brock University, located in the province of Ontario on the Niagara peninsula. The new building brings together research and industry, and supports programs in synthetic chemistry, biomededical research, biocontainment, molecular biology, medical education, and child and youth studies.
Payette is teamed with Architects Alliance (aA) in Toronto. The first phase of the project is expected to be complete in 2011.
Founded in 1964, Brock University currently enrolls almost 17,000 students annually. The research building, known as the Niagara Health and Bioscience Research Complex, is supported in part by federal-provincial economic funding. The Canadian government recently announced $1 billion in new infrastructure funding as a key element in an ambitious economic action plan for Canadian universities. The funding supports the development of a business incubator program, in which researchers and entrepreneurs can work collaboratively to transfer knowledge and innovations to the marketplace.
"Payette is keenly interested in how teaching and research science are evolving," said James H. Collins, Jr., FAIA, president of Payette. "Our partnership with these campuses as they integrate scientific teaching, research and clinical applications is changing not only the way we design buildings, but also the way science, education, and business interact."