FAU closes $35M brain research building in Jupiter to probe 'control systems' problem
JUPITER — A $35 million building completed in November 2022 at Florida Atlantic University’s Jupiter campus has been shut down while investigators try to determine the cause of problems with the facility.
Celebrated with a ribbon-cutting in January, FAU’s Stiles-Nicholson Brain Institute was the workplace of 75 faculty members, students and staff. In late July, FAU officials evacuated and closed the building after problems with its control systems surfaced.
Engineers are investigating the problems, which included pressurization issues that caused the researchers and other workers to be unable to open the doors of the rooms in which they were working.
The institute is part of a cluster of science-related business and institutions that has taken root along Donald Ross Road east of Interstate 95. It is a neighbor to the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience and the Herbert Wertheim UF Scripps Institute for Biomedical Innovation and Technology.
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Cara Perry, an FAU spokesperson, said a team of contractors and engineering firms are working on the issue and "progress is being made." She described the problem as "a glitch" and said the building was evacuated "out of an abundance of caution."
“It has something to do with the control systems in the building. This kind of building is not your typical building. It is a very complex and sophisticated building with a lot of careful engineering. That is why it is taking a little time to pinpoint," Perry said.
Equipment, lab animals had to be moved
The three-story, 58,000-square-foot building at FAU’s John D. MacArthur Campus had its official ribbon-cutting Jan. 19, but the building had been used for a couple of months prior to that.
The institute was founded in 2016 at the Jupiter campus but lacked its own building. Its research is focused on the study of brain disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, autism, addiction and brain cancer.
Under state law, university construction is not inspected by local municipalities, but by in-house university inspectors. Universities can also outsource inspections.
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The project’s general contractor was DPR Construction, headquartered in Redwood City, California.
“DPR is not involved in any investigation regarding this matter,” DPR spokeswoman Janella Escobar said in an email. “Following all construction and code inspections in October of 2022, DPR Construction completed the contracted scope and turned it over to FAU on 11/22/2022.”
The final building inspection for a certificate of occupancy was conducted by the State Fire Marshall and the FAU building code administrator, Perry said. The problem did not exist when the initial inspection was done. It was identified July 26. All occupants were notified that day and were successfully relocated by July 30.
Perry said she could not comment on exactly which system is at fault but said that is what is being investigated.
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FAU officials are hopeful the issue can be identified and fixed within six months, but in an Aug. 4 statement, FAU spokesperson Joshua Glanzer said it was too early to establish a firm timeframe. He said the institute’s work and operations will not be interrupted.
The space that the institute previously occupied on the Jupiter campus was still vacant, so the research was able to continue after the closure of the dedicated building. Sensitive equipment such as microscopes as well as 70 rats and mice had to be relocated.
The rodents were moved to other vivariums in Jupiter and Boca Raton, Perry said. A vivarium is a complex space designed for the care and maintenance of experimental animals.
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In a July 29 email obtained through a public records request by FAU University Press Editor-in-Chief Jessica Abramsky, an FAU official provided some details. The University Press on Aug. 4 became the first publication to report on the building's issues.
Wendy Ash Graves, FAU’s director of Environmental Health and Safety, stated, “Our current state is to relocate occupants (by 7/30-23) and the animals (ASAP) because the building pressurization is unstable and any condition which knocks the HVAC offline (fire alarm, power fluctuation, or otherwise) causes the potential for entrapment.
“In parallel, we are currently working with contractors and engineering firms to identify and implement both short-term solutions for occupancy and longer-term solutions that will allow the reintroduction of animals,” Graves said in the email.
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The Florida Legislature funded the construction, and David J.S. Nicholson, a Jupiter-based philanthropist and wealth manager, donated $10 million for research and education.
When Nicholson donated the funds in 2021, Randy Blakely, the institute’s executive director, said the new building and programs will put FAU’s neuroscience research “on steroids” and make it more visible and increase recruitment of top faculty.
“The building is not built around departments. It is built around research themes. It will house faculty from multiple departments and colleges,” Blakely said. “It allows for a lot of cross-fertilization.”
The building’s first floor is a public area featuring a reception space, lobby and auditorium. The second floor houses the Center for Cellular Neuroimaging and includes more than $1 million in equipment.
The Center for Computational Neuroscience occupied the third floor and served as a space for high school, undergraduate and graduate students studying computational biology, chemistry and neuroscience.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Pressure problem closes FAU's brain research building in Jupiter
