DPS Group and TRIA designing ElevateBio’s cGMP mfg. basecamp

Waltham, MA DPS Group and TRIA are designing a new cGMP development and manufacturing facility for ElevateBio, a Cambridge-based biotech company focused on creating and building a broad range of cell and gene therapy companies. ElevateBio will occupy 108,000 s/f in POST at 200 Smith St., a former U.S. post office repositioned into a 430,000 s/f office and lab building on a 36-acre campus. This facility will house ElevateBio BaseCamp, a single R&D, process development and cGMP manufacturing company, providing these and other services across ElevateBio’s portfolio companies and selected strategic partners, enabling them to access state-of-the-art capabilities.

ElevateBio selected DPS and its design affiliate TRIA to provide engineering design, architecture, consulting and interior design services for the fit-out of a raw warehouse space into a state-of-the art cGMP development and manufacturing facility for novel therapeutic technologies. Designed to feel like a “basecamp” – a physical foundation point for the incremental climb in the company’s growth, ElevateBio’s new facility will feature a collaborative open plan office and amenities that promote interaction, and provide flexible production suites for GMP manufacturing, laboratories, and a range of supporting utility and warehouse areas.

“The efficient and inspiring design of our new “basecamp” facility will offer development and  manufacturing capacity to meet current market demand as well as ensure flexibility for future growth with emerging pharmaceutical technologies,” said Mitchell Finer, Ph.D., ElevateBio chief scientific officer and president of ElevateBio BaseCamp. “As a strategic design partner, DPS Group brings a tremendous depth of cGMP facility design experience to this project, while TRIA’s lab and workplace design expertise has been pivotal in creating an innovative work environment that puts lab science on display. The synergy of their design partnership has been central to the success of this specialized space, and we look forward to the completion of our new home.”

TRIA’s design for ElevateBio’s open office and lab space will embrace the enormous ceiling heights, abundant natural light, exposed steel beams, and other original features of the former postal service distribution center. The basecamp concept will blend a comfortable, nature-based color palette with the industrial aesthetic of the existing building, using a light-toned wooden ceiling lattice to highlight the exposed ductwork and help to scale the expansive ceilings of 16 to 24 feet in areas. Upon entry to reception, the space flows from the open office with café and huddle spaces, to the glass-walled labs that promote transparency for employees, and finally to the GMP manufacturing area. DPS and TRIA are collaborating on the design of the lab suite for quality control testing and process development, ensuring a continuity of design and transparency between the office and lab space.

DPS Group is providing engineering design services to develop ElevateBio’s GMP manufacturing area with the flexibility to accommodate a range of technologies for the manufacturing of gene and cell therapy products.

The ElevateBio project team includes The Richmond Group for construction management, McNamara Salvia for structural engineering services, and EBI Consulting Group for civil engineering services.