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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →CRB’s work for Umoja Biopharma in Louisville, Colorado, shows how an AEC firm can apply Integrated Project Delivery (IPD) principles to a technically demanding fitout without treating design, construction and operational preparation as separate handoffs. CRB’s ONEsolution approach was intended to carry the project from planning through operational readiness, using one collaborative design-and-construction team, lean construction tools and early coordination with trade partners. The result is now Umoja’s The CLIMB facility, which opened in October 2023.
The project in one view
Umoja Biopharma and CRB began construction on August 30, 2021, in an existing building in Louisville, Colorado. CRB’s announcement described a 146,000-square-foot development and clinical manufacturing facility containing manufacturing areas, laboratories, offices and warehouse space. The project was not a ground-up campus in the usual sense: the delivery challenge was to convert an existing building into a flexible biopharmaceutical environment while preserving room for future expansion.
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Umoja’s later description uses a different measurement. Its October 2023 opening announcement said the initial facility covered 77,000 square feet, with expansion potential to 146,000 square feet. CRB’s project profile describes approximately 77,000 square feet as finished and another 69,000 square feet available in the core and shell. Those figures describe different stages of the same development, so they should not be treated as contradictory floor-area claims.
| Measure | What the source reported | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| Announced development size | 146,000 square feet (CRB, 2021) | Planned overall project capacity |
| Initial facility | 77,000 square feet, with expansion opportunity to 146,000 square feet (Umoja, 2023) | Space available at the opening phase and the intended expansion limit |
| Finished and shell space | Approximately 77,000 square feet finished plus 69,000 square feet in the core and shell (CRB project profile) | Completed fitout versus prepared future capacity |
| Current buildout statement | About 50% built out; the operational portion generates cGMP-quality material (Umoja manufacturing page) | A status statement that can change and should be dated when cited |
What CRB means by ONEsolution
CRB describes ONEsolution as “a complete approach” that takes a project from initial planning through operational readiness. In practical terms, the approach is broader than producing drawings and administering construction. It is presented as a continuous delivery model in which planning decisions, technical design, construction sequencing and preparation for operations are coordinated by the same integrated team.
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CRB says ONEsolution advances IPD principles and combines them with lean construction tools. The company also describes a single collaborative design-and-construction team rather than a sequence of isolated consultants and contractors. That distinction matters in biopharma work because a change to a process, utility, room classification or piece of equipment can affect architecture, mechanical systems, electrical distribution, validation planning and the eventual operating procedure.
BD+C reported that CRB used the approach to align stakeholders and quoted the firm’s Colorado market leadership describing early cost and schedule certainty as a goal, without compromising design or construction integrity. That is a stated benefit of CRB’s method, not an independently measured outcome for the Louisville project.
How the IPD principles appeared on the Louisville fitout
Early involvement around changing requirements
Umoja was developing a manufacturing and clinical capability in a field where technology and process requirements can change quickly. The project brief therefore emphasized flexibility and scalability. CRB’s announcement said the team wanted the facility to accommodate rapidly changing technology, and a CRB project statement described commitments that unified team members around that objective.
For an existing-building fitout, early alignment is especially consequential. The team must discover what the shell can support, establish where high-load or high-service areas belong, and reserve pathways for future utilities before walls and ceilings make those decisions expensive to change. The available project accounts support that planning intent, but they do not publish a room-by-room coordination record or a quantified change-order result.
One team instead of sequential handoffs
CRB presented design and construction as the work of one collaborative team. BD+C also reported that CRB brought in local subcontractors and was willing to share documents with other AEC firms for a second opinion. That behavior supports a picture of open technical collaboration: specialists could review assumptions while decisions were still changeable.
The sources do not establish that the project used a formal multi-party IPD contract, nor do they describe a risk-and-reward pool, guaranteed maximum price structure or shared-loss formula. It is more accurate to say that CRB applied IPD principles through its ONEsolution delivery approach than to assign contractual terms that have not been published.
Lean tools and operational readiness
Lean construction tools are part of CRB’s stated method, but the public project descriptions do not identify a specific pull-plan, takt schedule, Last Planner workflow or measured waste reduction. The defensible point is that lean planning was included in the approach and intended to improve coordination.
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Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Operational readiness is the endpoint CRB names for ONEsolution. In a biopharma facility, that endpoint sits beyond physical completion: the building must be capable of supporting the owner’s processes and quality requirements. The public accounts do not provide a detailed commissioning, qualification or training schedule for The CLIMB, so those activities should not be inferred from the phrase “operational readiness.”
What the facility was designed to accommodate
Manufacturing, laboratories and support functions
The 2021 announcement grouped the uses into manufacturing, laboratories, offices and warehouse areas. That combination reflects a facility intended to connect research, process development, material production and the support functions required to run them. Umoja’s manufacturing information says the operational portion produces cGMP-quality material, while the remainder provides additional buildout capacity.
The distinction between “clinical manufacturing facility,” “initial facility” and “finished space” is important. The first describes the project’s purpose, the second describes the opening phase, and the third describes the amount CRB says was fit out at the time of its profile. None of those labels alone proves that all 146,000 square feet were operational in October 2023.
Core-and-shell capacity for later growth
CRB’s approximately 77,000-square-foot finished area and 69,000 square feet available in the core and shell indicate a deliberate expansion strategy. Future capacity was not merely a conceptual master-plan allowance; the project profile says part of the building remained available for later fitout. Umoja’s 2023 wording similarly described expansion opportunity to the 146,000-square-foot total.
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For an owner whose technology may change, leaving shell space can reduce the risk of overbuilding highly specialized rooms before the process is fixed. It also creates a future coordination obligation: utilities, access, fire protection, environmental controls and circulation must be planned so that later construction does not disrupt active manufacturing. The sources establish the capacity strategy, not the detailed phasing plan.
Timeline: announced milestones versus the eventual opening
| Date or milestone | Reported event | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| August 30, 2021 | Construction began on the existing Louisville building | Reported by CRB and project coverage |
| May 2022 | Phase 1 completion was projected | Forecast in CRB’s 2021 announcement |
| Fall 2022 | Substantial completion was projected | Forecast, not a confirmed completion date |
| October 2023 | The CLIMB opened | Announced by Umoja Biopharma |
The planned 2022 milestones and the October 2023 opening should remain separate facts. The later announcement shows that the facility opened after the earlier forecast, but the published sources reviewed here do not explain why the dates differed. It would be speculation to attribute the change to permitting, supply chain conditions, design revisions or any other cause.
Sustainability commitments and what is actually verified
The 2021 project reports said the design would integrate LEED criteria and pursue Umoja’s goal of zero carbon emissions. CRB’s later profile describes conservation measures including lighting sensors and water-conserving restroom fixtures, and frames the design around a 2031 zero-carbon-emissions goal.
These are design intentions and described measures. The available accounts do not establish that the building received LEED certification, achieved zero-carbon operation or met a particular energy-use intensity. A responsible project description should therefore say “designed to pursue” or “included measures supporting,” rather than present those goals as verified performance.
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BD+C identified Impact Mechanical for MEP engineering, Kenny Electric for electrical installation and HTI Labs for laboratory casework. Kenny Electric’s own project page also describes its participation. Naming these firms helps show how the integrated team extended beyond the lead designer and builder into the specialist trades that shape a laboratory and manufacturing environment.
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The trade list is not a complete directory of every participant, and the public material does not assign each firm a formal IPD contract role. Their inclusion demonstrates specialist participation; it does not prove shared financial risk, joint ownership of design decisions or a particular procurement method.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Why an existing-building biopharma fitout benefits from integrated planning
- Existing conditions are uncertain. Survey information, structure, utility capacity and concealed services can affect the design after work begins. Bringing construction expertise into planning can expose those constraints earlier.
- Process changes propagate across disciplines. A revised manufacturing step can alter room layouts, equipment loads, HVAC requirements, electrical distribution, plumbing and material flows. A single coordinated team can review the chain of effects before installation.
- Future phases must be protected. Shell space only has value if today’s fitout preserves routes, capacity and safe separation for tomorrow’s work.
- Operations cannot be an afterthought. The owner needs a facility that supports production and quality procedures, not simply a building that is physically complete. CRB’s stated endpoint of operational readiness puts that concern inside the delivery conversation.
Those are reasons the approach can be relevant to similar projects; they are not claims that the Louisville team achieved a quantified improvement on each measure.
A practical way to evaluate an IPD-style fitout
Owners considering a comparable project can use the following sequence to test whether an integrated approach is substantive rather than a label.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches- Define the operational outcome. Identify the products, quality regime, process equipment, support laboratories and move-in sequence that the building must support. Separate fixed requirements from assumptions likely to change.
- Bring key specialists in early. Include process, facilities, validation, mechanical, electrical, laboratory and construction expertise while layouts and utility strategies are still flexible.
- Map the existing building. Confirm structure, envelope, utilities, fire protection, access and hazardous-material constraints before freezing the fitout basis.
- Reserve expansion capacity. Document which areas are fully fit out, which remain core and shell, and how future utilities and construction access will work without interrupting operations.
- Use a shared decision record. Track assumptions, owners, cost effects, schedule effects and the point at which each decision becomes difficult to reverse. Collaboration is strongest when the team can see the same information.
- Plan the transition to operations. Tie completion activities to commissioning, qualification, training, documentation and production readiness as applicable to the owner’s quality system.
- Measure the promised benefits. If the delivery team promises cost certainty, fewer changes, faster decisions or lower waste, agree in advance how those outcomes will be calculated and reported.
What this project does—and does not—demonstrate
The Louisville case demonstrates a coherent delivery narrative: CRB connected planning, design, construction and operational readiness under ONEsolution; the project used IPD principles and lean tools; the team coordinated local specialist contractors; and the building was organized for phased growth. Umoja’s opening confirms that the facility became operational in October 2023, with an initial 77,000 square feet and additional capacity described in the project accounts.
It does not provide a public, apples-to-apples comparison with design-build or construction management at risk. It does not publish project cost, a verified schedule gain, a quantified carbon result, a LEED certification, or the contractual risk-sharing terms that some formal IPD agreements contain. Those omissions do not invalidate CRB’s approach; they define what can responsibly be concluded from the available project record.
Bottom line for owners planning a similar facility
CRB’s ONEsolution approach is best understood as an IPD-informed, end-to-end delivery method tailored to the realities of biopharma fitout. Its value in the Umoja project lies in keeping technical design, trade coordination, future expansion and operational preparation in one conversation. The strongest evidence is the project’s planned and delivered configuration: a 77,000-square-foot initial facility inside a 146,000-square-foot development strategy, with core-and-shell capacity for growth and an operating facility opened in October 2023. Claims about cost, schedule, carbon or certification should remain limited to stated goals unless the project team publishes measured results.
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