McCarthy tops off Math and Science Building at San Diego Mesa College

By By BD+C Staff | March 26, 2012

McCarthy Building Companies, Inc. has topped out steel construction for the new 206,000-sf four-story Math and Science Building in the heart of San Diego Mesa College.

San Diego Community College District representatives, San Diego Mesa College faculty members, and project team members gathered recently to commemorate the milestone with a traditional topping out ceremony.

The $110 million Math and Science Building occupies the area immediately east of the existing Learning and Resource Building and south of the I-300 Building. McCarthy construction crews disassembled three older buildings on the site before breaking ground for the new facility in August of 2011. Construction has required careful monitoring and managing to minimize disruption to regular campus activities.

Designed by Architects | Delawie Wilkes Rodrigues Barker, the new San Diego Mesa College Math and Science Building will provide new educational space for students pursuing degree and certificate programs in biology, chemistry, physical sciences and mathematics. The building will house four floors of classrooms, computer classrooms, and teaching lab classrooms, as well as faculty, staff and administrative support space. Specialized areas will include a greenhouse and an astronomy observation center.

The project team is targeting LEED Silver Certification by the U.S. Green Building Council. All classrooms, teaching laboratories, and the majority of the staff offices will optimize the use of natural daylight. The windows will utilize high-performance, low "E" glazing that will allow natural daylight to enter the building, while rejecting unwanted ultraviolet and infrared light waves. This, in turn, will help reduce the amount of energy required to condition the building. The roofing construction will consist of a cool-roof material, which also will reflect unwanted energy and reduce the amount of energy consumed. BD+C

Before you get your shorts in a knot, I have nothing against science, technology, engineering, or even mathematics; to the contrary, I love all four “STEM” disciplines (I’m lying about the math). But I question whether we need to be building K-12 schools that overly emphasize or are totally devoted to STEM.

| Mar 3, 2014

Negotiate your way to success

There are few business skills as important as negotiation. Many successful businesspeople pride themselves on their ability to turn a deal in their favor. Here are a few key negotiation principles to ensure you’re generally getting a good deal.

| Mar 3, 2014

5 ways to gain clients you actually like

Gaining more clients is one thing. Gaining more clients that you actually like is something else entirely. Here are some tips to perfect the art of attracting and retaining clients that you enjoy working with.

| Mar 3, 2014

Engineering and construction CEOs are cautiously optimistic about the global economy, says PwC

Firm leaders remain leery about the availability of skilled workers, the state of government debt and deficits, and rising material prices, according to PwC’s 2014 Global CEO Survey.