Foundation for Biotech Campus: Collaborative Planningh [ By Tony Badeaux ] Biogen Idec's new campus sits on a 43-acre hilltop site in San Diego County. The campus was designed along the lines of an Italian hilltop village. Phase I, shown under construction, will be completed in fall 2004. Cisterra Partners' goal in developing Biogen Idec's West Coast Center of Excellence in the University Town Center (UTC) area of San Diego was to create a corporate environment that thrives on innovation, collaboration and employee development. The Biogen Idec project sits on a spectacular hilltop site, one of the few commercial sites still open for development in San Diego County. The UTC area has been one of the region's hot spots for growth for more than 20 years. It offers the benefits of a suburban location while being a part of San Diego's world class biotechnology community. Cisterra had already committed to buying the land when Biogen Idec approached the developer about outsourcing development of the campus. (Biogen Idec's internal staff of 40 was busy building the company's new manufacturing facility about 20 miles north of San Diego in Oceanside, California.) The two companies quickly struck a deal that fit Cisterra's business model of partnering with clients and began a unique planning process to ensure the rapid completion and the ultimate success of the campus. Phase 1 of the campus, which will be completed in fall of 2004, will total 348,000 square feet and include two office buildings, two labs and one "Commons" building. Phase 1 will accommodate up to 1,000 Biogen Idec employees, while the second and third phases will have room for another 1,400 employees in five additional buildings spread over the 43-acre site. When completely built out in the next decade, the entire campus will feature 11 buildings. Cisterra has built Cisco Systems facilities in Ottowa, Boston and Amsterdam. In Boston, it garnered $92 million in tax incentives and unprecedented densities. The Vision Thing Paul Draper, Biogen Idec's senior director of facilities, took the internal lead in planning the new campus. Realizing his company's rapid growth (as many as 10 new employees per week) required the project to be completed as quickly as possible, Draper devised a collaborative process to expedite the campus and effectively confirm information, and also allow a clear flow of decision-making, without forsaking fundamental planning principles. Key members of Biogen Idec's senior management, drawn from several major functional areas, came together to form a project steering committee. Cisterra Partners' senior management also joined the committee. Using key senior management from the outset, collaborative planning eliminated potential inefficiencies in the process. The goal of the process was to come away with a more complete design based on users' needs, coupled with the best architectural features that would appeal to the Biogen Idec community. The steering committee began to meet in the summer of 2001, even before the land purchase was finalized, and convened weekly to discuss issues in the acquisition, planning and development of the campus. This enabled the team to move forward at a faster pace than a traditional project. The steering committee was a great device for the timely communication of high-level issues between the development team and Idec's senior management. Whenever a decision was needed from Idec's senior management level, the team had instant access to the people who could make it. One of the first orders of business was the selection of an architectural firm. Cisterra developed and oversaw an RFP process. Six firms were invited to participate, several of whom Cisterra had worked with on other projects in Amsterdam. The entire process, from distribution of the RFP, to team interviews took only six weeks. Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum (HOK) was ultimately selected based on its impressive portfolio of corporate campus projects. (HOK and Cisterra had also teamed up to create Cisco's million-square-foot European headquarters.) William E. (Bill) Valentine, HOK's international president, served as the lead designer. With HOK on board, the focus of the steering committee turned to precise programming. The steering committee, which expanded to include a broader group of senior staff during these discussions, talked to Idec employees at all levels of the operation to gain insights and brought ideas back to the group. In addition, HOK led a "visioning session" of department heads, the architectural and engineering team and the steering committee. At the session, the group talked through Idec's values and the qualities that the Idec team wanted reflected in the campus. Growing Beyond Roots With Cisco Cisterra Partners, whose name is a combination of Cisco and 'terra,' which means earth, was founded on a nontraditional premise: to become partners with its users. The company was formed by Todd Anson and Steve Black. Anson, a former managing partner of a large law firm, had been legally representing Cisco Systems. In 1999 Cisco contacted Anson with the idea of forming a development company dedicated to providing an extremely high degree of professionalism and quality, using a format that made these services "portable" so that they could be transported to locations throughout the world. Anson chose Steve Black, a real estate entrepreneur, as his partner. Cisterra began as the development arm of Cisco Sytems in 1999. Shown here is one Cisco Facility. In Amsterdam, the firm led an international project team in developing a $200 million project on time and on budget. The business model has been successful. Cisterra has built Cisco facilities in Ottawa, Boston and Amsterdam. The company has since grown from its roots as Cisco's developer, building facilities for other companies. That, too, has been a successful strategy. The company's ability to work with municipalities on entitlements and incentives is an important element of the company's success as well. Municipalities are not necessarily receptive to developers, but as the "development arm" of the user, Cisterra has been welcome wherever it has gone -- giving municipalities what they want, which is companies' presence and jobs. In Boston, for example, Cisterra was able to achieve $92 million in tax incentives as well as unprecedented densities for Cisco. In Amsterdam, the company led the international project team through myriad, complex processes and development challenges to bring a $200 million project in on time and under budget. It obtained significant economic incentives from the City of San Diego for the Biogen Idec campus, which included fee reductions, tax rebates and reimbursement of Housing Impact Fees. Cisterra is currently developing DiamondView Tower, a Class-A office building directly outside of center field of the San Diego Padres' new ballpark, Petco Park. When completed, DiamondView Tower, which will be one of the first office buildings to be built in downtown San Diego in 14 years, will feature panoramic views of downtown San Diego and Petco Park, extensive parking and immediate access to public parks, retail, restaurants and public transit. The company has been recognized for its efforts: it was named the 2003 Developer of the Year by the NAIOP San Diego Chapter. The Biogen Idec project was honored as the Chapter's Project of the Year. The visioning group determined that fundamental to the campus' design was a reflection of the company's culture. The buildings and grounds needed to be connected and integrated to allow for collaboration among Biogen Idec's people. Recognizing that the dedication of its employees equated to long hours at work, the company wanted to ensure a comfortable working environment. Recruiting is key to Biogen Idec's continued success, so a campus that represented the company well was also important. A beautiful environment, combined with San Diego's hospitable climate and outdoor lifestyle, would set the company apart from its competitors. Armed with this intelligence, HOK set out to design a campus that met all of Biogen Idec's needs. Starting with seven designs, the steering committee quickly narrowed the choices to two. A follow-up meeting was held and in two hours (including lunch) the design was selected. Like an Italian Hill Village Known as the "Arroyo Plan" because of an arroyo (a gully) that runs through the center of the campus following the natural typography, the design focuses on connectivity between the buildings, while retaining the natural characteristics of the site, including rolling hills and canyons. An elevated glass bridge spanning the arroyo will connect the administrative and lab buildings. The facade of the buildings will feature three different colors of sandstone, giving each building the look of Italian hill village homes clustered together. First phase of the Biogen Idec campus will comprise 348,000 square feet and will accommodate up to 1,000 employees. Second and third phases will have room for an additional 1,400. There will be 11 buildings. Also included are many amenities that reflect Biogen Idec's desire for employee collaboration, including informal indoor and outdoor meeting areas, multiple meeting rooms, food service areas, an espresso bar and a gym. Employees seeking outdoor recreation can enjoy a sand volleyball court and running paths. The landscaped portions of the grounds will feature walking trails, gathering areas, outdoor sculptures and a memorial to deceased employees. Perhaps the most striking design element is the value that has been placed on natural light. Biotech labs are often placed toward the center of a building with large floor plates, offering little awareness of natural light for those working in the labs. Through discussions with the company's senior scientists, the steering committee determined that emphasizing natural light was an important way to reflect the value the company puts on employees and their comfort. The lab buildings have been designed with smaller floor plates, which allow abundant natural light to enter all of the labs and offices. The same quality has been designed into the administrative office buildings. The result is that an outside awareness will be available to almost all occupants of the buildings. After considering several general contracting firms, the steering committee selected Turner Construction. Turner, the nation's largest builder of pharmaceutical facilities, became an integral part of the design team in completing the plans for the campus. Grading began in October 2002 and foundations were poured in March 2003. Tony Badeaux is executive director of commercial development for San Diego-based Cisterra Partners, LLC. For more information Cisterra Partners www.cisterra.com Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum www.hok.com