Originally posted by IBJ on June 12, 2025. Read original press release here.
Indiana University said Thursday that its board of trustees has approved an architectural design plan for the IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences, or IU LAB, building in the 16 Tech Innovation District in Indianapolis.
The five-story, 150,000 square-foot building will be built next to the Herron School of Art and Design’s Eskenazi Fine Arts Center on Indiana Avenue. The facility will include research and teaching labs, classrooms, collaborative workspaces as well as startup and incubator space.
In a news release, IU said IU LAB is place where “biosciences and technology converge, serving as a hub for discovery, innovation, entrepreneurship and industry partnerships.”
Construction is scheduled to start this fall with an expected completion in summer 2027. IU LAB officially began operations in January.
In December, IU announced that it received a $138 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to fund the new building. IU has called the grant the largest it has ever received in support of research and development. The grant from Indianapolis-based Lilly Endowment was to the IU Foundation.
IU said the new IU LAB building is designed to fit in its neighborhood and will be in line with the architectural identity of the nearby IU Indianapolis campus, with use of limestone accents, brick and transparent glass with “warm-toned” metal panels. The building is designed with modular planning to allow for future reconfiguration as needed in the future, IU said.
The project will include new parking areas, drives and sidewalks.
In January, former Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Rosenberg was named the inaugural president and CEO of IU Lab.
