Office Buildings

Project Profile: Lincoln Yard Life Sciences Building

The project is a building designed from the ground up for life sciences tenants, so it required flexible design solutions for tenants.

Engineering firm: Stantec
2024 MEP Giants rank: 11
Project: Lincoln Yard Life Sciences Building
Location: Chicago, IL, United States
Building type: Office building; research facility/laboratory;
Project type: New construction
Engineering services: Electrical, power; energy, sustainability; fire, life safety; HVAC, mechanical
Project timeline: October 2020 to August 2023

Challenges

The project is a new spec. building designed from the ground up for life sciences tenants, so it required flexible design solutions for tenants.

The first phase of Lincoln Yards includes a new 320,000 sq ft life sciences lab building along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Source: Sterling Bay, Architect of Record: Gensler
The first phase of Lincoln Yards includes a new 320,000 sq ft life sciences lab building along the North Branch of the Chicago River. Source: Sterling Bay, Architect of Record: Gensler

Solutions

Special features include robust mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) infrastructure to accommodate a 50/50 split of life science lab and office space; flexible MEP infrastructure and planning that facilitates lab program anywhere on the floor plate and capability for tenants to add specialty exhaust systems and standby generators; and a heat recovery chiller and lab exhaust energy recovery system that provide energy efficient operation with 9% energy savings compared to LEED baseline.

Forward-thinking sciences companies attract talent to the city of Chicago to make lasting scientific advancements in the new Lincoln Yards research facility. Source: Sterling Bay, Architect of Record: Gensler
Forward-thinking sciences companies attract talent to the city of Chicago to make lasting scientific advancements in the new Lincoln Yards research facility. Source: Sterling Bay, Architect of Record: Gensler