New BMBL edition released The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health have released the long-awaited 5th Edition of the BMBL, “Guidelines for Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories.” Notable features include an outline of agricultural pathogen biosafety in BSL-3Ag and BSL-3 enhanced environments (previously codified only by USDA-Agricultural Research Service document ARS242.1M, which is used internally at USDA). The 5th edition also is intended to clarify aspects of biosecurity that have not been detailed in previous documents. Significant updates have been made to the agent summary statements for various pathogens, including those now classified as “select agents.” A revised chapter on risk assessment is also included. For a free download: www.cdc.gov./od/ohs/biosfty/bmbl5/bmbl5toc.htm. Labs take honors The Biodesign Institute at Arizona State Univ., Tempe, has received a 2007 Aon Build America Award in a program sponsored by the Associated General Contractors of America. The awards recognize excellence in contracting. The Biodesign Institute, R&D Magazine’s 2006 Laboratory of the Year, was built by Sundt Construction Inc. and DPR Construction Inc., a Tempe-based joint venture, and was designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent, Atlanta. For more: www.agc.org. The St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital pharmaceutical production facility/pilot plant lab, Memphis, has received a merit award in an annual competition administered by the Design-Build Institute of America (DBIA). The 65,000-ft2 development facility was created in only 18 months from start to finish by design/build provider Austin AECOM, Chicago. The Univ. of California-San Diego’s Calit2 facility was named a “notable project” for 2007 in the College and University category by Architype Review, a forum of architects, academics, and designers created to advance discussion of design within specific building typologies. “Notable projects” are recognized for innovative responses to challenging issues within a given typology. Calit2, the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, was designed by NBBJ, Seattle, and built by Gilbane Building Co., San Diego. ASHRAE mulls greener standards Proposed addenda to two standards promulgated by ASHRAE, the American Society of Refrigerating, Heating, and Air Conditioning Engineers, are aimed at improving building sustainability. An addendum to ANSI/ ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, “Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings,” would promote increased energy savings by modifying envelope requirements to allow the use of more daylight-friendly skylight materials in certain climate zones. Photocontrols would be required for certain types of skylights. A proposed addendum to ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 62.1, “Ventilation for Acceptable Indoor Air Quality,” would clarify air-cleaning standards that require filtration of air supply to improve IAQ, especially in areas determined by the EPA to have significant ozone pollution. For more: www.ashrae.org. Miami museum competition heats up Five internationally known architecture firms have been invited to submit designs for the new Miami Science Museum, a major new project that will replace the city’s current 40-year-old facility. The planned 200,000-ft2 building, tentatively scheduled to open in 2011, will have labs as well as exhibits, galleries, and presentation spaces. An aquarium, planetarium, and rooftop observatory will expand the organization’s teaching and research capabilities. The $275 million project will also showcase environmentally sustainable design, including a “green” roof. Competing architecture firms, whose designs are due for evaluation in early May, are: Grimshaw, New York City and London; Polshek Partnership Architects, New York City; Steven Holl Architects, New York City; Wilkinson Eyre Architects, London; and Zaha Hadid Architects, London. Purdue construction inspires major donor The Mann Foundation for A major new endowment will boost research in biomedical engineering at Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, Ind. The gift recognizes the university’s research commitment, reflected in construction investments such as the new Biomedical Engineering Building (design: BSA LifeStructures). Click to enlarge Biomedical Engineering has announced a $100 million gift to endow an Alfred Mann Institute at Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, Ind. The institute will be focused on commercialization of innovative biomedical technologies that improve human health. The gift is the largest single endowment ever created for Purdue; the Mann Institute intends to create at least 12 such institutes at research universities worldwide by 2012. The Mann gift was inspired, in part, by a major lab construction push at Purdue’s Discovery Park and Purdue Research Park. The institute will be housed in 30,000 ft2 of space at Discovery Park, where a $25 million Biomedical Engineering Building opened in fall 2006. For more: http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007a/070316WodickaMann.html. Anti-collapse strategies detailed NIST, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, has released a new guide to help owners and designers of multistory facilities avoid “progressive collapse”: the spread of an initial local structural failure by chain reaction that results in the collapse of most or all of the building. NIST’s publication “Best Practices for Reducing the Potential for Progressive Collapse in Buildings” offers advice on improving structural integrity and robustness beyond minimum requirements. For a free download: www.bfrl.nist.gov/861/861pubs/collapse/. Stata, three years later The Ray and Maria Stata Center for Computer, Information, and Intelligence Sciences at MIT, a structure that architect Frank Gehry himself compared to a party of “drunken robots,” is actually fulfilling its mission well, according to Boston Globe correspondent Robert Campbell. Users interviewed by Campbell indicated that the controversial 720,000-ft2 research facility succeeds particularly well in sparking collaboration and interaction in its Student Street and food service zones. Users also praised the amount of unprogrammed space available on an as-needed basis. Some beefs: the unusually high quality of maintenance required, the need for regular caulking to seal leaks, and the difficulty of controlling heat gain from the extremely high concentration of computers. For more: http://tinyurl.com/2o9sdo. USGBC tweaks LEED to reflect life cycles The Life Cycle Assessment working group of the U.S. Green Building Council has developed initial recommendations for incorporating life-cycle assessment of building materials in the LEED green building rating system. The working group recommends an initial concentration on assessment of assemblies constituting a building’s structure and envelope. Credits would be awarded according to the assemblies’ environmental impact, from the extraction or harvesting of raw materials through processing, manufacturing, installation, use, and ultimate disposal or recycling. The LEED Steering Committee hopes to complete a plan for implementing the credits by the end of this year. For more: www.usgbc.org/.