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A Philadelphia Home for Research in Pediatrics
Launched with an initial gift of $25 million from Ruth M. and Tristram C. Colket, Jr., The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s Ruth and Tristram Colket, Jr. Translational Research Building will house cutting-edge research programs in pediatric diseases.
“This facility provides a new, custom-designed setting to advance our already robust research to the next level,” said Stephen B. Burke, chairman of the Board of Trustees of Children’s Hospital. “We are building more than glass and steel; we are building 21st century health care for children worldwide.”
The 12-story, 700,000-sq.ft., $504 million project will provide four laboratory floors, administration and conference spaces, and a two-story ground floor with lobby and cafeteria. An additional four stories below grade will contain infrastructure and more laboratory support space. The plan is for the building to literally grow along with Children’s Hospital’s research program until it reaches its full height of 24 stories.
Architect and interior design firm Ballinger will be aided by mechanical/electrical engineer Bard, Rao + Athanas Consulting Engineers, LLC and laboratory planner GPR Planners Collaborative, Inc.
CTRB offers myriad benefits
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia was founded in 1855 as the nation’s first pediatric hospital. Its pediatric research program is among the largest in the country, ranking third in National Institutes of Health funding. The Colket Translational Research Building (CTRB) will greatly enhance its efforts by bringing together researchers who have been scattered in various locations. Physical proximity, believes Children’s Hospital, will foster close collaboration, thus providing more opportunities for new ideas and expedited results.
The building’s very design will also foster research efforts. Many of the current floors feature state-of-the-art laboratories, which can be reconfigured easily as teams grow and their research evolves.
In addition, having such a state-of-the-art facility will aid in staff retention and recruitment. “Translational research entails transforming scientific discoveries into medical innovations,” said Philip R. Johnson, M.D., chief scientific officer at Children’s Hospital. “Those innovations are aimed at improving the lives of children and families. Having state-of-the-art space, equipment and technology will help us attract top-level researchers to join the preeminent scientists already here."
Four stories of labs
Currently, the Colket Translational Research Building has four stories of laboratories. The third and fourth floors house the Center for Childhood Cancer Research, which has a reputation for moving quickly from bench to bedside. One project, for instance, progressed from announcing the discovery of a gene variant for neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer of the peripheral nervous system, to opening a clinical trial based on that discovery, in only 12 months. |
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Another research project at the Cancer Center involves collaboration with the nearby University of Pennsylvania. Here, pediatric oncologists are using immunotherapy, which harnesses elements of the body’s immune system to attack cancer cells. One result has been a treatment regimen that has boosted the survival rate in neuroblastoma. Researchers hope that this approach will be both more effective than current treatments—and gentler on children.
Another entire floor of the building will be dedicated to researchers investigating mitochondria, the tiny power plants of human cells. Malfunctioning mitochondria can lead to metabolic and degenerative diseases and also play an important role in diabetes, epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Douglas C. Wallace, Ph.D., an international expert in mitochondria, is bringing his laboratory to Children’s Hospital to establish a Center for Mitochondrial and Epigenomic Medicine.
The (currently) final lab floor will bring together research staff to the Center for Cellular and Molecular Therapies. This Center will focus on medicinal gene therapy and stem cell therapy, under the direction of internationally recognized gene therapy pioneer Katherine A. High, M.D. A $2 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant from federal National Recovery Act funds is enabling the expansion and upgrade of a manufacturing suite at the Clinical Vector Core facility. This facility produces clinical-grade vectors of bio-engineered viruses that deliver therapeutic genes to patients suffering from genetic diseases. Within the next year, this Center expects to supply vectors for a new clinical trial of gene therapy for the inherited bleeding disorder hemophilia.
“We have a great deal to be proud of when looking at our Hospital’s global impact,” concluded Johnson. “Bringing research leaders together in this new facility enhances both our capabilities and our opportunities to transform pediatric medicine.”
The CTRB has a Silver LEED certification, reflecting its energy-saving, environmentally responsible design features, such as heat-reflective roofing and windows, energy recovery systems in heating and air conditioning, light harvesting system and low-flow plumbing. The LEED consultant is Viridian Energy & Environmental.
Ruth and Tristram Colket, Jr. Translational Research Building
of The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
- The Ruth and Tristram Colket, Jr. Translational Research Building currently has 11 stories, comprising 450,000 square feet. It has the capacity to accommodate 12 more floors, adding an additional 400,000 square feet.
- The building has nine custom air handling units that have the capacity to move a half million cubic feet of air per minute.
- Once all of the laboratory floors are completed, the building will add more than 5,000 lineal feet—nearly a mile of lab bench—to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s overall research capability.
- The building’s core facilities include a robotic cold room that can store more than two million genetic samples.
- 10,000 cubic yards of concrete and 15,800,000 pounds of steel were used to construct the Colket Translational Research Building.
- The Colket Translational Research Building is Children’s Hospital’s first “green” building. In July 2009, the first phase of the building achieved LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) silver certification, a designation that the U.S. Green Building Council grants to buildings that meet strict standards for environmental responsibility. The second phase of the building is expected to obtain LEED certification by the end of 2010. Features that make the building “green” include:
- The building’s elevators, as well as its heating, ventilating and air conditioning system, are equipped with innovative energy-recovery systems.
- More than 85 percent of the waste generated during the building’s construction was recycled.
- Light-colored roofing and paving materials reflect heat away from the building, and many windows are edged with a decorative, reflective ceramic frit pattern that has a similar effect. These features help keep the building cooler and reduce energy consumption.
- Photo sensors near laboratory windows measure the amount of daylight coming in and adjust the lighting inside the lab appropriately to reduce energy consumption, a process called “daylight harvesting.”
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