New England Biolabs | Headquarters and Expansion

Ipswich, Massachusetts

New England Biolabs is the world’s leading producer of restriction enzymes known as gene splicers. Meridian Associates was selected as the civil engineer and land surveyor as part of a worldwide design competition for New England Biolabs' new headquarters, which totals over 140,000 square feet of research space and production facilities.

Following the conclusion of the project, Meridian Associates was retained for an addition campus expansion project that included an additional 100,000 sf new laboratory building, an underground parking lot and above ground parking spaces.

The campus comprises laboratories, administrative offices, and housing facilities for visiting scientists and scholars situated on >160 acres of mixed forest, wetlands and agricultural land.

Meridian was careful in our design approach to mitigate the environmental impact of the large campus sited on the former historic Don Bosco Catholic retreat grounds. Meridian’s team preserved several 100-year-old copper beech trees, a stormwater management facility, and historic buildings on the site, which were repurposed for continued use. The facility met LEED certification requirements, featuring a heat-deflecting roof, a high-performance curtainwall, and a man-made wetland that serves both as retention pond and a home for wildlife.