Low Resolution Firm Brochure - Research Facilities Design

RFD THE FIRM
RFD is a firm of laboratory design consultants focused exclusively on the programming and
design of laboratory buildings for industry, healthcare, research and education. Located in San
Diego, California, RFD’s staff of architects, engineers, and laboratory planners work cohesively
to provide seamless project management and delivery.
Since its incorporation in 1984, the firm has provided laboratory design services for more than
one thousand projects in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Malaysia,
Kuwait, Abu Dhabi and Egypt. These projects represent a wide range of facility and client types,
including Biomedical, Bioscience, Physical Science, Engineering and Nanotechnology
Research, University and College teaching facilities for private and public institutions, and
scientific research institutions. The firm has also provided laboratory design services for
Biotechnology and Biopharmaceutical companies and a variety of research buildings for the
Federal Government.
ACADEMIC BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH
RFD’s successful experience in laboratory design is based on an interactive design approach
which helps create inventive solutions for each client’s specialized requirements. RFD has
provided laboratory consulting for many of the worlds most prestigious and established
research institutes such as The Wellcome Trust, The Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The
Scripps Research Institute, Hauptman Woodward Institute, and Children’s Memorial Medical
Center. This experience has afforded us a comprehensive knowledge of the many issues
facing scientific research today.
UNIVERSITY AND COLLEGE
RFD’s work with more than 275 academic institutions throughout the U.S. on several hundred
laboratory building projects has positioned the firm to advise colleges and universities regarding
the types of teaching, research and support spaces are most appropriate to meet its specific
requirements. RFD serves this role through iterative, interactive, participatory on-campus work
sessions with the faculty, staff, students and administration during which goals and objectives
are discussed, along with teaching methodologies, class sizes and functional requirements. For
teaching laboratories, RFD will develop and present alternative solutions supporting different
pedagogical styles for consideration by the faculty. These alternatives often include such issues
as fixed vs. movable benches, overhead vs. floor-mounted distribution of services, Integration
of technology, combination laboratory/lecture layouts, and layouts which promote “workshop”
or “discovery-based” pedagogies.
ENGINEERING
RFD offers a wealth of experience in the highly technical areas of Engineering Teaching and
Research laboratories. Understanding the special needs for high bay, cleanroom technology,
special services such as high pressure air, high pressure steam, high volume cooling water
systems and heavy structural and electrical loads allows RFD to program working engineering
space to meet each client’s diverse and often unique requirements. State of the art teaching
and research facilities such as UCSD’s high bay structures laboratory where multi-story building
systems are shaken to destruction to simulate earthquake forces, the sprawling 1.5 million GSF
Engineering, Science & Technology Facilities for the University Teknology Petronas in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia, and the Center for Nano-Fabrication and Molecular Self-Assembly at
Northwestern University all demonstrate RFD’s comprehensive abilities to support the
development of very technical engineering facilities.
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND BIOPHARMACEUTICAL
The special environments needed for drug discovery, development and scale-up offer rigorous
challenges to the laboratory designer. RFD’s experience in navigating these physical and
regulatory challenges has developed over many years of involvement with small start-up firms
as well as established Pharmaceutical Companies. Design of cleanrooms for pharmaceutical
and biotechnology scale-up and production, as well as quality assurance and testing
laboratories requires a thorough understand of USFDA regulations for cGMP and GLP
compliance. Projects such as Biogen Idec’s research center Nobel Laboratory and
Genentech’s NIMO production facility demonstrate RFD’s understanding of these specialized
issues. Projects for Amgen, Roche and Novartis along with numerous collaborations of start-up
biotechnology clients further showcase RFD’s proven ability in this highly challenging field.
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
RFD has experience with a wide range of federal government agencies ranging from the U.S.
Department of Energy, National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Geological Survey,
Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Customs Service, and the
National Marine Fisheries Service.
LISTEN, THEN LEAD
After we listen to the administration, investigators, departmental staff and facilities
representatives, we prepare alternatives which address the issues with solutions driven by longterm
value. RFD leads the team through the initial concept development phase - we are
committed to leadership.
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