InTouch
May / June 2023

CoP Leader Profiles: Terry Jacobs

Marcy Sanford
CoP Leader Profiles: Terry Jacobs

Terry Jacobs is Chair of the Oral Solid Dosage (OSD) Community of Practice (CoP) Steering Committee. He is a recognized expert in the design of pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and corporate facilities and has completed projects for clients in the US, China, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. He has lectured extensively on the planning and programming of laboratories and manufacturing and other industrial facilities.

An ISPE member since 1982, Terry has also served on the ISPE International Board of Directors and helped plan ISPE annual meetings. He is the co-author of Good Design Practices for GMP Pharmaceutical Facilities and co-wrote chapters on architecture for the ISPE Good Practice Guide: Quality Laboratory Facilities and the ISPE Baseline® Guide: Oral Solid Dosage Forms (Third Edition).

Terry says that recent discussions in the OSD CoP Steering Committee meetings have focused on “net zero facilities and how companies can get there. We hope to be able to present something about it at ISPE’s next annual meeting. The collaboration and interaction of ideas that we have at our meetings is fantastic. We have people from different aspects of the industry—owners, manufacturers: all the people involved have different outlooks on what is going on and the resources you need. ISPE has been a great organization to continue my education and develop great friendships. With ISPE, you can work together on something bigger than what you could do by yourself.”

When Terry and his business partner founded JacobsWyper Architects more than 40 years ago, they incorporated sustainability principles into projects wherever feasible. “We have been focused on sustainable design from the very beginning and it has become an integral part of our practice. More recently, pharmaceutical companies have begun leading the way on sustainability. We have heard from many who want to be carbon neutral by 2040. I think it is important to integrate sustainable design into every project. We have a responsibility to clients and the planet and in the long run, reducing energy cost is good for everyone.”

“The most rewarding part of being an architect is to design buildings and projects for clients that help their employees to be successful at work, ones that go beyond compliance, are sustainable, on budget, on schedule, and are a truly great place to work. The workplace is constantly changing. Twenty years ago, office size was determined by rank in the company; now work is a place to collaborate."

“We are always looking for ways to create a place where people can work together. For example, we designed a new dining hall for one of Astra-Zeneca’s manufacturing facilities. They had a functional cafeteria, but we convinced them to build a more elaborate building with lots of natural light and a new layout and design. Afterwards they told us that the building changed the culture of the site for everyone and made it better.”