Late last month, the startup oncology company Umoja Biopharma and CRB Group, a sustainable AEC and consulting firm, started construction on the fitout of a 146,000-sf building in Louisville, Colo.
CRB, whose practices include Biotech, food and beverage, pharma, and Science + Technology, is transforming the existing building into highly flexible and scalable manufacturing, lab, office, and warehouse space. The design focuses on integrating LEED criteria and zero-carbon emissions to meet Umoja’s sustainability goals. The project is in two phases, and should be completed by October.
What makes this project different is the application of CRB’s ONEsolution delivery approach, where the firm—whose services include architecture, engineering, construction, and consultation—will take the fitout from its initial planning to operational readiness. CRB, with 18 offices in North America and two in Europe, espouses the principles of Integrated Project Delivery, and uses lean construction tools to align stakeholders on all aspects of the project.
ONEsolution is “key” to “creating a collaborative environment” with clients like Umoja, says Colton Konkak, CRB Group’s Colorado Market Team Leader, who spoke with BD+C last week about this project. He explains that the advantages of ONEsolution include early cost and scheduling certainty without any loss of design or construction integrity, “which is important for a startup.”
“Working closely with Umoja demonstrates their commitment to sustainability, diversity, equity, inclusion, creativity, and fast project delivery,” says Konkak. “These commitments and goals unified our team members and allowed us to support rapidly changing technology.”
ITS CAST INCLUDES EXPERT EXTRAS
CRB’s M.O. is to hire industy experts as needed on projects. For example, on the Umoja fitout it brought in three local subs: Impact Mechanical for MEP engineering, Kenny Electric for electrical installation, and HTI Labs for laboratory case workstations. “We aren’t bashful, either, about handing over our documents to other AEC firms, to get a second opinion,” says Konkak.
On certain other projects, CRB is dipping its toe into modularization through its SlateXpace multimodal manufacturing system that provides even greater opportunities for speed to market, cost control, and adaptability. Currently it is working with Germfree, which specializes in providing modular biopharma cleanrooms.
Related Stories
| Sep 13, 2010
'A Model for the Entire Industry'
How a university and its Building Team forged a relationship with 'the toughest building authority in the country' to bring a replacement hospital in early and under budget.
| Sep 13, 2010
3D Prototyping Goes Low-cost
Today’s less costly 3D color printers are attracting the attention of AEC firms looking to rapidly prototype designs and communicate design intent to clients.
| Aug 11, 2010
Underwriters Laboratories, ICC Evaluation Service announce dual evaluation and certification program for building products
Underwriters Laboratories (UL), the leading product safety testing organization, and ICC Evaluation Service, Inc (ICC-ES), the United States' leader in evaluating building products for compliance with code, today announced a partnership that will provide the building materials industry with a Dual Evaluation and Certification Program for building products.
| Aug 11, 2010
Minneapolis Public Housing authority, Honeywell launch energy retrofit program
Minneapolis Public Housing Authority and Honeywell today announced a $33.6-million energy efficiency and facility renewal program that will help the housing authority improve its infrastructure, reduce its impact on the environment, and save more than $3.7 million in utility costs per year. Local contractors will also complete a majority of the work for the program, one of the largest of its kind for a public housing authority, helping boost the Twin Cities job market.
| Aug 11, 2010
Shepley Bulfinch announces merger of Merzproject
National architecture firm Shepley Bulfinch of Boston and Merzproject of Phoenix today announced their merger. The merger unites Shepley Bulfinch, one of the country’s leading design firms, and Merzproject.
| Aug 11, 2010
The New Yorker's David Owen: Why Manhattan is America's greenest community
David Owen is a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of 14 books, most recently Green Metropolis: Why Living Smaller, Living Closer, and Driving Less Are the Keys to Sustainability, in which he argues that Manhattan is the greenest community in America. He graduated from Harvard and lives in Washington, Conn., where he chairs the town planning commission.
| Aug 11, 2010
Brown Craig Turner opens senior living studio
Baltimore-based architecture and design firm Brown Craig Turner has significantly expanded its housing design capabilities and expertise with the launch of its new senior living studio.
| Aug 11, 2010
Economic conditions to cause drag on cement consumption
The conditions facing the construction industry are likely to remain weak for another year or more, causing a drag on cement consumption, according to the most recent economic forecast from Skokie, Ill.-based Portland Cement Association (PCA).
| Aug 11, 2010
Parsons Brinckerhoff names new CEO
Parsons Brinckerhoff announced the appointment of George J. Pierson as the firm’s CEO effective January 1, 2010. Mr. Pierson, currently President and COO of the firm’s Americas division, succeeds Keith J. Hawksworth, who becomes Chairman.
