The VIB and UGent joined forces for the construction of a new research building, which came next to the current VIB on the technology park in Zwijnaarde.

Ghent University and the VIB (The Vlaams Instituut voor Biotechnologie) wished to jointly develop an open plot on the Ardoyen campus:

• One was struggling with a lack of space.
• The group has grown considerably in recent years and will continue to expand in the future.
• The infrastructure is no longer adapted for high-tech research.
• Its location is remote. Therefore, a new building was provided. Thus, many VIB studies are gathered on 1 campus which is conducive to interaction among the research groups.

The new building comprises approximately 16,000 m² with the following components:

• Offices and conference rooms.
• Laboratories and research rooms.
• L2 and L3 laboratories.
• Greenhouses and plant growth rooms.
• Animalarium.
• BSL3-A3 laboratories.
• Restaurant.
• Parking.

In the high-security, high-tech BSL3-A3 lab, research is conducted on airborne pathogens, such as influenza and coronavirus. In Ghent, this is the first BSL3-A3 lab, which is essential to conduct such research. One can study how viruses enter and multiply in human cells and research new therapies. The corona crisis, among others, made research into airborne pathogens a social priority.

Ingenium was responsible for the design of the technical installations and the follow-up of the works. Besides the classical techniques HVAC, plumbing, electricity and special gases, the equipment also includes specific installations concerning over/under pressure and HEPA filtration in the laboratories, L3/A3 spaces, additional filtration of the drains, pure water installation and a steam installation for production and distribution of steam for autoclaves and air groups.

Both during design and execution, the map of BIM methodology was fully drawn, with all parties working three-dimensionally in one model. The virtual design models are further evolved into as-built models during execution, with Ingenium supervising this coordination assignment, resulting in a project where all plots are meticulously coordinated with each other, to further the execution itself.

In addition to supervising the coordination assignment, Ingenium also performed several CAD, using REVIT CAD to further modify and evolve the design models into execution and asbuilt models.

ref. 16055.002