University of Maryland Baltimore
Baltimore, MD

Completion: 2005
Size: 128,500 GSF
Cost: $15,251,000
LEED Certification: Silver

Building 1 is the first building designed and constructed as part of Phase1 of the University of Maryland Baltimore’s biomedical research park, the Biopark, and Baltimore’s first LEED-certified Silver building. Ayers Saint Gross prepared the master plan for the Biopark, and was later selected as the architect-of-record for this first building.

The Biopark development aims to serve a dual purpose. By integrating the campus and the West Side to stabilize and stimulate a vibrant urban environment, a stronger connection is made between the neighboring community and the West Side redevelopment effort. Additionally, the facilities provide much-needed flexible wet-lab research space, which has until now been lacking in the Baltimore market. The Biopark’s association and proximity to UMB, along with nearby Johns Hopkins University and the National Institutes of Health, make it a natural magnet to life sciences researchers nationally and internationally. Already private research firms and research departments within the university are leasing the space within Building 1.

This six-story, 128,500 sf building consists of flexible office space with wet laboratory space for lease to life sciences research and technology companies. UMB research and technology departments occupy the lower floors. The mechanical, electrical, and communications systems have been designed with space flexibility in mind to accommodate a variety of potential tenants.

This building is LEED-certified Silver under the Core and Shell pilot program, acting as a model project for the development of a sustainability rating system for “core and shell” buildings by the U.S. Green Building Council. The project received this rating for its environmentally-friendly features including a green roof for stormwater management, carefully selected equipment and design for optimum energy performance, and sustainable building materials.