ISPE Facility of the Year Award Winners

Since TRIA’s foundation eight years ago, we have had the privilege of partnering with some of the biggest names in the pharmaceutical industry, designing innovative state-of-the-art facilities. Our research-based process  ensures that we provide the right design solution that can help any company’s mission thrive. The International Society for Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) has granted three Facility of the Year awards to TRIA designed facilities. Below we have highlighted these projects:

Moderna Therapeutics

Moderna Therapeutics

This facility was awarded the ISPE 2019 Facility of the Future Category Award

TRIA and DPS worked as partners on this LEED Gold project. DPS provided full architectural and engineering design for the Norwood facility as well as construction management oversight, commissioning, qualification and validation and procurement services. TRIA designed clinical labs, offices, employee facilities, and a conference center. The facility provides the capacity to develop materials for pre-clinical toxicology studies, as well as Phase 1 and Phase 2 clinical development programs. It also has the capability to support new medicines enabled by Moderna’s mRNA platform.

ElevateBio

Elevate Bio

This facility was awarded the ISPE 2021 Operational Excellence Category Award

TRIA provided architecture and design services for the interior fit-out of a raw warehouse space into a state-of-the art cGMP development and manufacturing facility for novel therapeutic technologies. Designed to feel like a “basecamp” – a physical foundation point for the incremental climb in the company’s growth, the client’s new facility features a collaborative open plan office and amenities that promote interaction and provide flexible production suites for GMP manufacturing, laboratories, and a range of supporting utility and warehouse areas. The facility was constructed to produce viral vector, cell therapy, gene therapy, and regenerative medicine for clinical purposes.

CRISPR LOBBY

CRISPR Therapeutics

CRISPR Therapeutics

This facility was awarded the ISPE 2022 Innovation Category Award 

TRIA worked closely with the CRISPR to set the objectives of designing with flexibility and scale in mind. Our team approached the project with our proven process of visioning, programming/planning, design and execution.

Using group visioning sessions, executive workshops and focus groups, TRIA identified the client spatial and aesthetic needs and gained an understanding of the company culture. Like every lab we design, we used tools developed by TRIA to define the quantitative requirements for the project, which were developed and documented during the programming/planning process.

Efficient and unique, the open plan office and amenity spaces are designed to promote interaction and collaboration. The design embraced the abundant natural light and embraced the exposed steel structure of the building. Glass walls were incorporated throughout to provide transparency, natural light and a connection between the office and manufacturing space.

On September 20th ISPE will be hosting their annual product show, a one-day premiere biopharmaceutical show with some of the leading names in the industry. TRIA will be at booth W66, stop by to learn more about our ISPE Award Winning Designs.

Neuroscience Firm Utilizes Creative Design to Inspire Employees

Date

July 7, 2023

Vision Wall

The Vision Wall, adjacent to the boardroom, is a custom-designed installation aimed at inspiring employees and remember their purpose: to help patients who are suffering from neurodegenerative diseases.

Science and art are often seen as distinct disciplines, but for life science firms focused on discovery, the two can coexist, especially when the artwork can be appreciated for its emotional power.

Triggering an emotional response was exactly what Vigil Neuro was looking for when TRIA began the fit-out at its new research-based headquarters in Watertown. A biotech firm developing therapeutics for patients who suffer from rare and neurodegenerative diseases, the space aimed to daily remind its employees of their purpose.

How does creative design accomplish this? For Vigil, TRIA developed a warm, inviting and modern color palette to celebrate the people. Imagining the floor plan as a Nervous System for their microglia-focused science, neighborhoods were created to represent The Brain (lab), Neurons (open collaboration desks), the Spinal Chord (café), neurotransmitters and synapse (hallways that allow for serendipitous connections to other teams), and finally the Backbone (boardroom). Adjacent from the backbone, the foundation that supports the teams, a long corridor wall became the spotlight for the most inspiring design element in the 15,000-square-foot space: The Vision Wall.

Recognizing the power of art and its ability to inspire, Vigil and TRIA partnered to create an interactive 3D textile board in this corridor that aims to trigger an emotional response from employees, patients, caregivers and their families.

The installation is titled “Vision: A Brighter Tomorrow for People with Devastating Neurodegenerative Diseases.” It’s grand in scale, measuring approximately 28 feet wide by 8 feet high. Eleven wooden pegs are imprinted with strategically chosen “value” words–Trust, Vision, Inclusion, Compassion, Hope, Community, Transparency, Communication, Innovation, Urgency and Caregiver—and all surround a bigger center peg with the word Patients. By including all parties with whom their research affects ensures they are “doing it right” and “doing it together”, two Vigil staff mantras.

Users identify their individual values by wrapping a color-coded piece of yarn around the corresponding peg, allowing participants to reflect on what is important to them. As more users interact, the yarn pieces start to intersect and intertwine creating a web of truth and respect for the entire community, which symbolizes how “harnessing the power of microglia” can improve the lives of patients, caregivers and families.

Vigil Neuro incorporated other art installations throughout its space to inspire discovery and connection to its mission. For biotech firm Vigil Neuro, art inspires creativity, imagination, understanding, and expression; it stimulates dialogue and community, leading to innovation.

About TRIA
TRIA is a full-service architecture firm that values client relationships above all. The firm’s principal-driven approach puts our leadership team at the table with client decision-makers, working together to envision success, solve problems and deliver exceptional results. Our lab design and corporate interiors teams strive to learn every client’s unique DNA, and by doing so, we create efficient and energizing spaces that reflect a company’s culture and foster innovation. At TRIA, we design spaces that enable business success and advance discoveries – in the lab, around the office, and beyond.

Lab Design With Scientists in Mind

Date

May 15, 2023

“Because I can understand what the end users are explaining about the day-to-day activities, I know where the pain points are, what works for them, and what they are looking for without repetitively asking. I can pick up functional deficiencies in a current lab that could pose challenges.” Said Senior Lab Planner, Chris Graul

TRIA, a principal-led architecture firm with a focus on designing unique spaces for science, technology and corporate clients, recently completed the design of Abata Therapeutics’ new 24,000-square-foot lab and office located in a new building in Watertown, MA.

The finished space gives Abata’s scientists a functional, flexible place that supports productive work, collaboration and focus. Reflective of its name, which means “tranquil” in one language and “it’s a quiet place” in another, Abata’s lab is graced with floor-to-ceiling windows, so scientists, who are discovering new therapies, can peer out to a tranquil park, with trees and the Charles River.

For this company’s lab manager, the process of getting there, designed during the tumultuous pandemic, was surprisingly smooth and peaceful. Choosing a firm that has dedicated scientists on staff proved to be a good strategy. A lab planner’s primary goal is to ensure efficient workflows that serve the end user. Acting as a communicative, collaborative partner who can provide trusted expertise, and understand and share the values, TRIA’s lab planner was able to nurture the company’s culture of innovation.

Creating a new lab in a new space while also overseeing day-to-day business operations, Abata’s lab manager wanted a firm that could provide a high level of confidence. TRIA’s Senior Lab Planner Chris Graul, a former scientist with 20-plus years in the lab, has a unique perspective developed from years of sitting behind the bench and knows that examining the form and function of their new space would lead to improved execution.

Looking through the lens of a scientist, Chris’s first task is to understand the unique workflow, which is key to the functionality and efficiency of the lab. He often asks, what angles are conducive for moving experimental components throughout the day? Does the path of travel make sense? He makes considerations that are often overlooked, for example, storage, logistics, and where to place biological waste barrels.

Scientists’ experience with space organization and practical features cannot be overlooked. Chris explains it as “living in a lab, you have to constantly adapt to changing personnel, specific work that you are doing, and equipment that might be new or changing – often making the most out of the space that you have.” This is why TRIA provides spaces that can be adaptable. There’s a good idea of how the space would be used, but no one can predict the nuances of how individuals and teams work and interact if the science is changing. Knowing what’s available and having good partnerships with vendors also allow design elements to be scalable to accommodate growth.

After serving as an Associate Director of Lab Operations for over a decade, Chris recognizes that group parity is also important. When Abata’s facility manager realized the list of wants and needs exceeded space and budgets, Chris was able to help make concessions without changing the functionality and efficiency of the lab.

TRIA is confident that Abata’s new space will help them to achieve their long-term goals.

About TRIA
TRIA is a full-service architecture firm that values client relationships above all. The firm’s principal-driven approach puts our leadership team at the table with client decision-makers, working together to envision success, solve problems and deliver exceptional results. Our lab design and corporate interiors teams strive to learn every client’s unique DNA, and by doing so, we create efficient and energizing spaces that reflect a company’s culture and foster innovation. At TRIA, we design spaces that enable business success and advance discoveries – in the lab, around the office, and beyond.

TRIA Has Signed on to the AIA 2030 Commitment

Date

April 25, 2023

Crispr Lab

Innovative, purposeful & sustainable designs.

TRIA, a principal-led architecture firm with a focus on designing unique spaces for science, technology, and corporate clients, is proud to announce it has formally signed on to the AIA 2030 Commitment to design carbon-neutral buildings by the year 2030. In addition, the firm has established 2-year goals to reduce the baseline carbon emissions on all its projects by 90%.

While TRIA has been incorporating sustainability elements and LEED-certified design for its clients’ projects since its foundation in 2015, the official pledge to align its framework with the AIA Standard for Design Excellence will provide clients with a new baseline when it comes to delivering TRIA’s scope of services. TRIA is designing all its clients’ workplaces at a minimum of LEED Gold certifiable, not only for the office but also for the lab and manufacturing facilities. Because lab facilities present a unique set of challenges, requiring five to ten times more energy per square foot to run than a corporate office, TRIA’s lab programming and planning expertise will be high-performance and low impact. Strong relationships with the industry’s most sustainable vendors and engineering partners give clients a comprehensive approach to sustainability and wellness.

As an industry leader in lab programming and planning and through the design of  over 12 million square feet of  lab and office space, TRIA has amassed robust database of information and is working with the AIA to update their laboratory energy usage metrics. We are helping the worldwide scientific community establish accurate baselines by consistently contributing data to the International Institute for Sustainable Laboratories (I2SL).

TRIA is dedicated to the AIA 2030 Commitment, from our design studio to your workspace, we are devoted to making the world a better place by promoting sustainability, health, and equity in the built environment–for the planet we share, the people we serve, and the purpose that unites us.

About TRIA
TRIA is a full-service architecture firm that values client relationships above all. The firm’s principal-driven approach puts our leadership team at the table with client decision-makers, working together to envision success, solve problems and deliver exceptional results. Its lab design and corporate interiors teams strive to learn every client’s unique DNA, and by doing so, they create efficient and energizing spaces that reflect a company’s culture and foster innovation. The result enables business success and advances new discoveriesin the lab, around the office, and beyond.

TRIA Helping Unite Lab Operations & Facilities Management Specialists at the Lab Facilities Summit

Date

February 6, 2023

Jon Romig, Senior Associate & Senior Lab Planner

TRIA is proud to be partnering with the Lab Facilities Summit on March 23, 2023 in Boston.

Ever changing regulations, aggressive sustainability goals, limited space and budget, complex stakeholder groups, facilities management and digital transformation are just some of the challenges faced by the Life Sciences industry in today’s environment.

These factors are forcing laboratory owners, users, and managers to focus on long term vision and change the way they design, plan, build, and retrofit buildings to ensure lab facilities are future-proof and occupant centric.

However, in such a complex environment, with multiple internal and external stakeholders, all with competing priorities, balancing vision, resources, infrastructure, and technology is critical.

To help these life science and biopharma organizations overcome their challenges, TRIA will be exhibiting their innovative solutions and providing insights to attendees and expert speakers to aid them in creating lab facilities of the future.

Jonathon Romig, Senior Associate, Senior Lab Planner, will be featured as a key expert speaker during his roundtable on ‘Utilizing Technology for Right Sizing, Planning, and Maintaining Operations in Lab Facilities’ alongside heads of lab operations and facilities management at the event.

TRIA’s booth will also provide a valuable opportunity for attendees to see how the organization’s architecture and design solutions can solve their challenges.

Other speakers from leading operators sharing their insights include:

  • Kimberly Dougherty, Sr Director, Facilities & Operations, Atalanta Therapeutics
  • Partha Krishnan, Deputy Director, Health Safety and Environment (HSE), Sanofi
  • Demet Aybar, Director of Facilities, Lab Ops and EHS, Strand Therapeutics
  • Jake Haworth, Associate Director of Operations, Moderna
  • Krisha Panchalingam, Senior Manager Lab Operations, Abata Therapeutics
  • Anthony Navarro, Head of Facilities & Lab Operations, Evelo Biosciences
  • Divya Krishnamurthy, Director, R&D Ops and Risk Management, Lyndra Therapeutics

Join TRIA at the Lab Facilities Summit to hear best practice strategies to plan, design, and manage future-proofed, occupant-centric, agile and sustainable lab facilities.

Find out more and register using our 15% discount code PARTNER15  click here.

TRIA Designs Abata Therapeutics’ Watertown Headquarters

TRIA, a principal-led architecture firm with a focus on designing unique spaces for science, technology and corporate clients, has been working with Abata Therapeutics on the design of its new workplace located at The Arsenal in Watertown. Having outgrown its space in Cambridge, Abata has moved operations to Watertown where they could plan for future growth.

“Abata’s move gave TRIA an opportunity to design a space that capitalized on everything Watertown has to offer. The second floor office and lab provide views of treetops, water, and parks. Abata means quiet place of peace, and so here we created just that.” said Aline Trindade, Director of Interiors, TRIA, Inc.

The Watertown location at Arsenal Park provides Abata with summer views of the treetops and winter views of the Charles River. The TRIA team utilized design details with an understated brand culture. The new tranquil office features an open concept filled with natural light, preserved moss, and organic shapes to mimic the lines in the Abata logo. The interior lab glass walls feature glazing to provide semi privacy, while the exterior lab windows share views of Arsenal Park.

Abata is focused on translating the biology of regulatory T cells (Tregs) into transformational medicines for patients with progressive multiple sclerosis and other serious autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. Together, they are bringing an entirely new approach to the treatment of autoimmune disease by engineering Tregs as targeted therapies that stop immune-mediated destruction, restore homeostasis – a state of harmony – and promote repair in the affected tissues.

Vertex Wins Engineering News-Record Award

Date

December 12, 2022

Vertex lobby

With soaring ceilings in the lobby, oversized asymmetrical chandeliers greet guests letting them know discovery doesn’t follow a straight line.

TRIA, a partner-led architecture firm with a focus on science and technology clients congratulates Vertex Pharmaceuticals on winning Engineering News Record’s Award of Merit for the tenant fit-out at  Innovation Square, now Leiden Center 1. Designed with Vertex’s mission in mind, the space provides open, collaborative office and labs which foster creativity and efficiency in the development of transformative medicines for serious illnesses.

After a complete programming and planning effort to define Vertex’s requirement and workplace strategies, TRIA provided architectural services for Vertex’s Leiden Center 1. The process, completed throughout the pandemic, was led by our lab-focused architectural team, who successfully implemented custom enhancements to the original core and shell design to make the space unique to Vertex.

Achieving LEED Platinum certification, this new state-of-the-art facility, a “Workplace of the Future”, features labs and manufacturing operations . For the remaining 40% of the office space, Vertex utilizes neighborhood-based office space with quick huddle areas, large and small conference rooms, a cafe with room for informal company meetings, a rooftop, a fitness room, an IT bar and coffee bar.

TRIA and DPS Group Congratulate CRISPR Therapeutics on ISPE Facility of the Year Award

Date

May 31, 2022

TRIA designed kitchen and community meeting space.

DPS Group, privately-owned, global engineering, procurement, construction management and validation (EPCMV) firm serving high-tech process industries, and design affiliate TRIA, a partner-led architecture firm with a focus on science and technology organizations bringing new discoveries to the market, congratulate CRISPR Therapeutics for being selected as the 2022 Facility of the Year Awards (FOYA) category winner for innovation by the International Society of Pharmaceutical Engineering (ISPE) for the CRISPR Therapeutics manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts. ISPE’s Facility of the Year Awards is an annual program that recognizes state-of-the-art projects utilizing new, innovative technologies to improve the quality of products, reduce the cost of producing high-quality medicines, and demonstrate advances in project delivery.

“Driven by our unwavering commitment to address patient needs, we are proud to be recognized by ISPE as 2022 Facility of the Year in Innovation for our state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Framingham, Massachusetts that has been innovatively designed with flexibility and scale in mind,” said Stephen Kennedy, Head of Tech Operations at CRISPR Therapeutics.

Winners in the innovation category exemplify the novel application of process manufacturing techniques, innovative design concepts, new technologies and unique solutions that exemplify the next generation of agile, flexible, efficient and effective new and existing pharmaceutical and biotechnology facilities. This includes implementation of commercially available and custom developed equipment which yielded superior results, improved competitive position, and/or demonstrated imaginative collaboration with vendors/suppliers/manufacturers.

CRISPR Therapeutics is harnessing the CRISPR/ Cas9 gene-editing platform to develop gene-based medicines for patients with serious diseases.  The project was awarded a FOYA award for Innovation based on the innovative design of the facility, which provides an end-to-end solution for production and fills operations.

“We are very thankful for all our partners in this project. DPS did a great job with engineering and the design of the project and keeping the team integrated and coordinated even throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” added Brad Ebel, Framingham Facility Site Leader at CRISPR Therapeutics. “We extend our congratulations to the full team who worked on this rewarding project.”

The ISPE FOYA judging committee was impressed by many facets of the submission, which included:

  • Digital systems and automation at all levels of the operation allow continuous monitoring and efficient product production and release;
  • A flexible utilization model allows for concurrent production of multiple products at different stages of development;
  • Independent and/or redundant utilities supplying individual clean rooms allow for continuous production without the need for a facility-wide maintenance shutdown, and
  • Facility Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide (FVHP) system to support rapid product changeover and reduction in the use of environmentally harmful chemicals.

The CRISPR Therapeutics manufacturing facility was designed thoughtfully and innovatively, and the ability of the facility to catalyze the promise of the technology impressed the judges. The facility is unique in utilizing a compact design with multiple independent production suites, each capable of producing a different product at a different stage of development while maintaining strict product segregation. The judges were particularly impressed with the use of a fully integrated digital stack that enables a small on-site warehouse to be continuously supplied from external sources yet still maintain uninterrupted production and testing operations. While the facility design was grounded in fundamental good engineering practices, there was intentionality in the flexibility of the facility that the committee found very innovative.

Following a series of user group meetings and executive workshops DPS was able to glean CRISPR’s operational needs which were then used to develop a best-in-class cGMP design for cell therapy and AAV production. The DPS team worked collaboratively with CRISPR Therapeutics on numerous process design layouts and scenarios to create spaces that will be flexible for years to come. DPS Group’s in-house experts were able to advise CRISPR on industry best practices across all engineering disciplines throughout schematic design, design development, and construction administration. Working with the CRISPR team as business needs evolved was essential to the project’s overall success.

Through group visioning sessions, executive workshops, and focus groups, TRIA identified the spatial and aesthetic needs for the quality labs and office space. TRIA’s lab and workplace design expertise and information collected during the visioning, programming, and planning process enabled the creation of an efficient and unique design. The open plan office and amenity spaces promote interaction and collaboration. The design embraces the abundant natural light and the exposed steel structure of the building. Glass walls are incorporated throughout to provide transparency, natural light and a connection between the office and manufacturing space.

Supply partners and key participants include:

  • Manufacturer/Owner: CRISPR Therapeutics
  • Architect: TRIA Design
  • Engineer: DPS Group Inc.
  • Owners Representative (OPM): Leggat McCall Properties LLC
  • Construction Manager/General Contractor: Commodore Builders LLC
  • Structural Engineer: Pare Corp.

Serving high-tech industries around the world, DPS Group delivers full-service engineering across a range of disciplines, including project management, procurement, design, construction management, health and safety management, commissioning, qualification, and validation (CQV), and facility start-up.

Tour ElevateBio’s BaseCamp Facility

Date

April 15, 2022

ElevateBio’s Waltham BaseCamp facility

Join ElevateBio and ISPE for an evening of facility tours and panel discussions with industry experts. Tour the award winning facility designed by TRIA and learn more about site selection, design, construction and the challenges of achieving operational readiness and delivering life-saving therapies.

Learn about the perspectives and strategies of bringing a new multi-modal facility on-line from Mike Paglia, COO, ElevateBio BaseCamp; new process technologies, throughput modelling and designing for flexibility from Emily Heffernan, US Director, New Process Technology, DPS Group; and the challenges that abound with site selection and leveraging local and state incentive programs from Bob Coughlin, Managing Director, JLL.

Event Details

Wednesday, June 8, 2022
5:00PM – 7:30PM
ElevateBio BaseCamp
200 Smith Street, Waltham, MA 02451

For more information and to register for the event click here

ElevateBio Basecamp 

First-of-its-kind cell and gene therapy manufacturing facility recognized for operational excellence.

TRIA provided architecture and design services for the interior fit-out of a raw warehouse space into a state-of-the art cGMP development and manufacturing facility for novel therapeutic technologies. Designed to feel like a “basecamp” – a physical foundation point for the incremental climb in the company’s growth, the client’s new facility features a collaborative open plan office and amenities that promote interaction, and provide flexible production suites for GMP manufacturing, laboratories, and a range of supporting utility and warehouse areas. The facility produces viral vector, cell therapy, gene therapy, and regenerative medicine for clinical purposes.

About TRIA

TRIA is a full-service architecture firm that values client relationships above all. The firm’s principal-driven approach puts our leadership team at the table with client decision-makers, working together to envision success, solve problems and deliver exceptional results. Our lab design and corporate interiors teams strive to learn every client’s unique DNA, and by doing so, we create efficient and energizing spaces that reflect a company’s culture and foster innovation. At TRIA, we design spaces that enable business success and advance new discoveries – in the lab, around the office, and beyond. Visit us on the web at https://tria.design and connect with us on LinkedIn.