Principals of owner Weill Cornell Medical College, professionals from AECOM’s Tishman Construction Corporation construction-management practice, and hundreds of construction trades people celebrated the “topping out” of the Belfer Research Building recently, as the final bucket of concrete was lifted to the highest levels of the building’s structure.
The project is a new, $650-million, 19-story building comprising 480,000 sf—equivalent to 10 football fields—which will become home to significantly expanded bench-to-bedside translational, medical research initiatives.
Located on E. 69th Street between First and York Avenues on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, the world-class facility will include 16 program areas, dozens of state-of-the-art laboratories and principal investigator office suites, and three below-street levels, and will allow Weill Cornell Medical College to recruit 30 or more additional top scientists. Its open design will promote collaboration with Cornell University faculty in Ithaca and with other researchers across the country and the world.
When it opens in 2014, the research center’s core facilities will house leading-edge scientific equipment in a shared space that will reduce technology costs. Its design and construction team is pursuing a LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) Silver rating for the building. The project’s architect is Ennead Architects LLP.
Tishman is utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) on this project to increase efficiency and reduce costs. Because it is a laboratory building, it has many more mechanical and laboratory process systems than a typical medical building. The application of BIM to the building-design process assisted the team in minimizing the space used for mechanical systems and maximizing the research spaces. Tishman also utilized BIM during pre-construction reviews to perform logistical and safety analyses, and resolve conflicts between the mechanical/electrical/plumbing and structural steel designs prior to award of contracts. BD+C
Related Stories
Building Team | May 4, 2022
Mancini Acquires Gertler & Wente Architects, Expanding the Firm's Opportunities in New Market Sectors
National design firm Mancini Duffy - with a 100+-year-old history and tech-forward approach based in New York City - announces the acquisition of Gertler & Wente Architects to further expand its footprint in the healthcare, multi-family residential, restoration, institutional, and religious sectors.
Contractors | May 4, 2022
CFC Construction names Pat Smith president
CFC Construction is proud to announce that Pat Smith has been promoted to President of the Colorado-based general contractor.
Sponsored | Healthcare Facilities | May 3, 2022
Planning for hospital campus access that works for people
This course defines the elements of hospital campus access that are essential to promoting the efficient, stress-free movement of patients, staff, family, and visitors. Campus access elements include signage and wayfinding, parking facilities, transportation demand management, shuttle buses, curb access, valet parking management, roadways, and pedestrian walkways.
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 3, 2022
For glass openings, how big is too big?
Advances in glazing materials and glass building systems offer a seemingly unlimited horizon for not only glass performance, but also for the size and extent of these light, transparent forms. Both for enclosures and for indoor environments, novel products and assemblies allow for more glass and less opaque structure—often in places that previously limited their use.
Architects | May 3, 2022
A U.K.-based design firm flaunts industrialized construction as it expands into U.S.
Bryden Wood wants to set up a network for manufactured components for repeatable building types.
Codes and Standards | May 3, 2022
American Institute of Steel Construction updates environmental product declarations
The American Institute of Steel Construction has released updated environmental product declarations (EPDs) “to help designers and building owners design more environmentally friendly buildings and bridges,” according to an AISC news release.
Education Facilities | May 2, 2022
Texas School for the Deaf campus gateway enhances sense of belonging for deaf community
The recently completed Texas School for the Deaf Administration and Welcome Center and Early Learning Center, at the state’s oldest continuously operating public school, was designed to foster a sense of belonging for the deaf community.
Codes and Standards | May 2, 2022
Developer Hines, engineer MKA develop free embodied carbon reduction guide
Real estate management and investment firm Hines has released the Hines Embodied Carbon Reduction Guide. The free guide, produced with Magnusson Klemencic Associates (MKA), is the result of a two-year effort, relying on MKA’s industry-leading knowledge of carbon accounting and involvement in programs such as the Embodied Carbon in Construction Calculator (EC3) Tool.
Building Team | May 2, 2022
HED and VAI announce merger to bring strategic expertise and drive community impact in Dallas
HED (Harley Ellis Devereaux), a leading national architecture and engineering firm, today announced a merger with award-winning, Dallas-based VAI Architects Incorporated (VAI).
Laboratories | Apr 29, 2022
Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago enables development of solutions for multiple industries
The Oracle Industry Lab in Chicago, which provides customers in multiple industries the opportunity to test new technologies, recently opened.
