The Vermont Department of Health and the University of Vermont in late October held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for a 60,000-sf public health laboratory that is nearly twice the size of the 62-year-old lab it replaces. The laboratory will be used to perform a wide range of analyses to detect biological, toxicological, chemical, and radiological threats to the health of the population, from testing for rabies, West Nile, pertussis and salmonella to water and food contaminants.
The new $31 million facility, located at the Colchester Business and Technology Park, took 18 months from its notice to proceed to its completion. It is distinguished by highly specialized Biosafety Level 3 and Animal Biosafety Level 3 (BSL-3 and ABSL-3) laboratories, as well as high-performance building enclosure, mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire suppression systems to conduct specialized laboratory work.
That mechanical system accounted for about 40% of the project’s total cost, and posed the biggest installation challenge for Vermont-based PC Construction, the contractor on this project, according to Matt Cooke, PC’s senior project manager. “The building’s ‘penthouse’ is all mechanical, and the facility is jammed-packed with air recovery and exchange equipment.
He says that “to make everything fit,” PC and the Building Team did extensive BIM modeling That team consisted of HDR (architectural design), Scott & Partners (exterior envelope), Krebs & Lansing (civil engineering), Zero by Design (energy consultation), as well as the State of Vermont Department of Building and General Services and the university (owners).
Westphalen Photography
PC Construction has built a number “clean rooms” in the past, but nothing as elaborate as this facility, which includes one of the few BSL3 labs in the country, says Cooke. He notes that some of the lab space requires zero leakage, so everything—including the electrical boxes and windows—needed to be sealed. Cooke adds that what also makes the facility unique are its “systems and automated controls” for the anterooms and air exchange machinery.
The building sits on a foundation supported by 180 H-piles that are driven to depths of between 70 and 90 feet. The original plans called for piles that would only need to be 60 to 65 feet deep. “But once we got out there and started drilling,” Cooke says PC found that the geological survey hadn’t sufficiently taken into account the location of underground rocks, which dictated far-deeper piles.
The facility design called for its six flue-gas stacks to be 75 feet above ground, which required FAA approval and a non-reflective coating due to their height and proximity to Burlington International Airport.
Westphalen Photography
PC Construction
PC Construction
PC Construction
Related Stories
| Jan 4, 2011
New Years resolutions for architects, urban planners, and real estate developers
Roger K. Lewis, an architect and a professor emeritus of architecture at the University of Maryland, writes in the Washington Post about New Years resolutions he proposes for anyone involved in influencing buildings and cities. Among his proposals: recycle and reuse aging or obsolete buildings instead of demolishing them; amend or eliminate out-of-date, obstructive, and overly complex zoning ordinances; and make all city and suburban streets safe for cyclists and pedestrians.
| Jan 4, 2011
An official bargain, White House loses $79 million in property value
One of the most famous office buildings in the world—and the official the residence of the President of the United States—is now worth only $251.6 million. At the top of the housing boom, the 132-room complex was valued at $331.5 million (still sounds like a bargain), according to Zillow, the online real estate marketplace. That reflects a decline in property value of about 24%.
| Jan 4, 2011
Luxury hotel planned for Palace of Versailles
Want to spend the night at the Palace of Versailles? The Hotel du Grand Controle, a 1680s mansion built on palace grounds for the king's treasurer and vacant since the French Revolution, will soon be turned into a luxury hotel. Versailles is partnering with Belgian hotel company Ivy International to restore the dilapidated estate into a 23-room luxury hotel. Guests can live like a king or queen for a while—and keep their heads.
| Jan 4, 2011
Grubb & Ellis predicts commercial real estate recovery
Grubb & Ellis Company, a leading real estate services and investment firm, released its 2011 Real Estate Forecast, which foresees the start of a slow recovery in the leasing market for all property types in the coming year.
| Jan 4, 2011
Furniture Sustainability Standard - Approved by ANSI and Released for Distribution
BIFMA International recently announced formal American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval and release of the ANSI/BIFMA e3-2010 Furniture Sustainability Standard. The e3 standard represents a structured methodology to evaluate the "sustainable" attributes of furniture products and constitutes the technical criteria of the level product certification program.
| Jan 3, 2011
Chicago Architectural Foundation’s media expert takes all 85 tours in one year
Jennifer Lucente, the social media expert at the Chicago Architecture Foundation has completed her year of taking tours—taking all 85 tours in 2010. The challenge that began last January with a tour of the Board of Trade building has ended today with the architecture foundation’s newest tour: Razzle Dazzle – featuring the Loop theater district followed by a celebration at the Chicago Theatre.
| Dec 28, 2010
Project of the Week: Community college for next-gen Homeland Security personnel
The College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, Ill., began work on the Homeland Security Education Center, which will prepare future emergency personnel to tackle terrorist attacks and disasters. The $25 million, 61,100-sf building’s centerpiece will be an immersive interior street lab for urban response simulations.
| Dec 20, 2010
Architect Adrian D. Smith on zero-energy cities, new technologies, and high density.
Adrian D. Smith, FAIA, RIBA, is co-founder (with Gordon Gill) of Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, Chicago. Previously, he was a design partner in the Chicago office of Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (1980-2003) and a consulting design partner from 2004 to 2006. His landmark structures include the Jin Mao Tower (Shanghai), Rowes Wharf (Boston), and Burj Khalifa (Dubai, U.A.E.), the world’s tallest structure. He recently collaborated with Gordon Gill to design the world’s first net-zero-energy skyscraper, Pearl River Tower, now nearing completion in Guangzhou, China. This account is based on his recent remarks at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
| Dec 17, 2010
BIM Tools Enhance Project Value
The Building Team for a renovation project at Georgia Tech uses BIM and 3D design tools to solve a complex millwork problem.
