Science & Technology Archives

Tobin Scientific is a biopharma logistic company specializing in the transportation and storage of cGMP materials and consumables, including hazardous materials.

Margulies Perruzzi is proud to be an ongoing partner with Tobin Scientific, supporting the expansion of their growing operations through the design of two warehouse facilities in Methuen and Wilmington, MA.

For the warehouse in Methuen, MA. Margulies Perruzzi provided design services to renovate Tobin’s new 38,000 SF GMP facility to support the storage demand of the nation’s leading life science community.

The facilities include office area, a cold storage warehouse rack room, vestibule area at the loading docks, quarantine/reject storage, and MEP/FP upgrades to meet specific material storage requirements.

Following the success of their first Methuen warehouse, Tobin Scientific again partnered with Margulies Perruzzi to design a new facility in Wilmington, MA. With a total of 36,128 SF, the warehouse is designed to support Tobin’s mission of safely and efficiently storing and transporting thousands of cGMP materials and consumables.

This project includes a reception area, conference room, break room, cold storage warehouse rack room, vestibule area at the loading docks, and quarantine/reject storage.

We are continuing to work with Tobin Scientific on building upgrades for additional warehouse storage facilities.

ImmunoGen, part of AbbVie, a leader in the expanding field of antibody-drug conjugates for the treatment of cancer, was looking to take back sub-leased space of their tenant space in Waltham, MA.

The MP team worked closely with ImmunoGen and the consultant team to provide programming and lab equipment services to renovate the space for labs and office. The team was able to maximize the desired new equipment layout within the existing available space to minimize impact on the project’s timeline and cost.

Photography by Elisif Photography.

MP was engaged to provide a feasibility study for converting two buildings into multi-tenant facilities for R&D and light manufacturing companies. The site is currently two separate, 80’s era, partially vacant, two-story office buildings totaling approximately 154,000 SF.

To accommodate repositioning the buildings for light manufacturing, the strategy involved removing portions of the second-floor concrete slab and reinforcing the existing columns to create a two-story space that could house manufacturing equipment, racking and storage, process equipment, and other features common to manufacturing and maker space tenants. Options for single and multi-tenant demising were explored in several fit plan scenarios as well as sweeping, but cost-effective solutions for rebranding the dated façade and fenestration, including the adjacent landscape and hardscape.

MP designed a 62,500 square foot addition to an existing warehouse for long-term design partner, Ken’s Foods. The project includes extending a Westfalia automated crane pick system to accommodate over 9,000 additional pallet positions, building upon the system that MP had previously assisted in installing in 2017. Additionally, the project involves extending the existing cooler system, adding 8,000 square feet of conditioned space.

The main focus of this project was creating space for an automated system and racking. The goal was to maximize the number of pallets that can be stored. Retrofitting the existing warehouse involved evaluating and adding additional structural and mechanical elements, as the building wasn’t originally designed for this level of structural load and system. The new addition needed to fit within the strict tolerances of the system because it now extends from the existing to the new slab.

Margulies Perruzzi was engaged to consolidate this client’s space from two floors to one, designing a more collaborative, team environment. The reconfiguration eliminated a communicating stair between floors 13 and 14 and created adequate space on floor 14 so that the client was able to sub-lease the lower floor. A large conference room opposite the main entrance was reconfigured into a new reception and waiting area.

The design team repurposed the infilled stair space, adjacent conference room, and two cubicle areas into an open collaboration space, a conference room, an all-hands meeting area, and large pantry. Striking red accent walls are an ode to the former large, curved glass stairway which provided access between the two floors. The renovation also created five meeting/huddle rooms, five offices, and two large conference rooms.

The elevator lobby was upgraded with textured panels, reflective ceilings, and linear LED lighting welcoming staff and guests to the new vibrant reception that celebrates views of Boston Harbor and seaport district. To update the office aesthetic, MP applied a new refreshed paint palette, new carpet, and wood tone LVT throughout. The renovation allowed for a contemporary and inspiring workspace for employees.

MP completed an office renovation for a confidential biotechnology research client in Cambridge. The project followed an extensive workplace strategy study to determine the best approach to a new hybrid work model. Workstations and offices that were previously permanently assigned to staff were remodeled to support a new, unassigned population, with a much higher presence of collaboration spaces. Administrative staff from multiple locations were joined together onto two floors, totaling 42,000 RSF, creating a unified office environment, as well as freeing up space in other locations for additional research opportunities.

AvenCell is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with a broad pipeline of next-generation immunotherapy product candidates for the treatment of hematological malignancies and solid tumors.

MP provided design services for AvenCell’s new 30,000 SF lab/office space, relocating their facilities from Cambridge to Watertown. The lab spaces have a variety of flex labs, specialty labs specific to their science and tissue culture rooms. There is a major emphasis on allowing natural light to enter the space, which can be observed through the use of glass between the lab and office spaces. In addition to allowing light to filter into the space’s interiors, the glass provides a visual connection for employees.

The program for AvenCell’s new space included reception, café, open office, flex offices, huddle and conference rooms, boardroom, open lab, tissue culture rooms, lab support, and vivarium. In addition to Avencell’s space, MP provided design services for an additional 20,000 SF of sublease space.

MP was brought on by IQHQ for this building repositioning project which includes upgrades to the building infrastructure to enable demolition of the adjacent building, as well as core and shell upgrades to the first and second floors at 20 Overland Street. The scope of work includes converting the existing office building to support life sciences labs and offices.

MP partnered with BR+A to provide a new shaft space from first floor to the new rooftop equipment, new dunnage at the roof for a new lab emergency power generator with fuel oil storage in the basement, a new lab air-handling unit, and cold and warm shell coordination.

Upgrades were also made to the lobbies and entrances at both the Overland and Burlington Street building entrances to entice more foot traffic in front of the building and to connect with the future public circulation.

On the first and second floors, MP is providing design services for a 40,000 SF interior fit-out for a life sciences tenant with a 60/40 lab/office split. A connection between the lab and office is supported by glass walls, allowing a clear visual into the lab from the office. In addition, the fifth-floor space will be built out as another 10,000 SF lab and office space.

For reasons of confidentiality, we cannot disclose any of the details of Margulies Perruzzi’s designs for the variety of defense research and development clients for whom we have worked over the past fifteen years. Some of those companies include:

Projects for these companies have included many different types of Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) spaces, engineering labs, rapid prototyping, manufacturing, clean rooms, electronics research labs, administrative spaces, training and conference facilities, and infrastructure upgrades. Many of these include complex security arrangements as well as integrating new technologies and testing applications. We have also helped masterplan several company’s campuses for more efficient facility use and for expansion.

Our design process has taken advantage of our experience with LEAN design methodologies, in conjunction with cGMP and ISO certifications.

In addition to being familiar with the operating requirements of consultants to defense contractors, our firm has adopted the necessary internal security protocols and network systems to allow us to meet the stringent standards outlined by each of these clients.

Boston Analytical is a premier cGMP-compliant laboratory. They are registered with the FDA and US DEA for pharmaceutical analytical testing. Testing services provided by Boston Analytical are used by pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and medical device companies across the globe.

Boston Analytical had grown into their Salem campus over the course of years. The result of this growth was an expansion in operations but poor adjacency of units across the three campus buildings. Margulies Perruzzi was asked to design an expansion and reorganization that would consolidate units while also providing additional production space. Most of the new space is production for testing, including chemistry, stability, and microbial labs, as well as ISO 8 to ISO 5 clean rooms. The remaining space supports office and administrative functions, including reception, open and private offices, conference rooms, and a kitchen/dining area.