In St. Louis’ Cortex Innovation District, Washington University School of Medicine recently opened its new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building.
Designed by CannonDesign and Perkins&Will, the 11-story, 609,000-sf facility is one of the largest neuroscience buildings in the world, according to a statement from McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., the project’s construction manager.
Intended to advance research in areas such as Alzheimer’s disease and brain tumors, the $616 million facility currently accommodates 1,000 faculty and staff members, including 95 research teams. In the future, additional space could be constructed to accommodate an additional 350 faculty and staff members, including about 145 research teams.
The project faced labor and supply chain challenges when construction started in spring 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite this, the project finished on budget and on schedule. McCarthy attributes this success to effective pre-project planning and the use of lean construction techniques.
“Early collaboration played a pivotal role in the success of this project,” Andy Poirot, vice president and project executive, McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., said in the statement. “We successfully realized the client’s vision, delivering a cutting-edge research facility poised to enhance lives for generations to come.”
Prefabrication and 3D modeling also helped the team overcome the project constraints. About 90% of the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) systems were prefabricated and tested before installation onsite. Prefab components both improved quality and reduced the number of onsite professionals needed for MEP installation. The building’s façade, with a unitized curtain wall, also was prefabricated.
In addition to the research building, the facility features a parking structure with 1,846 vehicle spaces as well as bicycle racks and electric vehicle charging stations. A 1,000-ft elevated pedestrian connection spans 360 ft, connecting the new building to an existing parking garage and surrounding structures. The project also includes a two-story, 24,775-sf utility plant.
The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification.
On the Building Team:
Owner: Washington University School of Medicine
Architect of record and structural engineer: CannonDesign
Design architect: Perkins&Will
MEP engineer: Affiliated Engineers, Inc., with CannonDesign also on mechanicals
Construction manager: McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., partnered with Tarlton Corporation and KAI Enterprises
Related Stories
| Aug 30, 2012
John S Clark Co. completes teaching lab at UNC Wilmington
Three-story building provides offices, classrooms, and labs.
| Aug 7, 2012
Pioneering revival
Financial setbacks didn’t stop this Building Team from transforming the country’s first women’s medical school into a new home for college students.
| Aug 7, 2012
Shedding light on the arts
Renovating Pietro Belluschi’s Juilliard School opens the once-cloistered institution to its Upper West Side community.
| Aug 7, 2012
McCarthy tops out LEED Platinum-designed UCSD Health Sciences Biomedical Research Facility
New laboratory will enable UCSD to recruit and accommodate preeminent faculty.
| Jul 25, 2012
KBE Building renovates UConn dining hall
Construction for McMahon Dining Hall will be completed in September 2012.
| Jul 24, 2012
Military Housing firm announces expansion into student housing
The company has partnered with the military to build, renovate and manage nearly 21,000 homes with more than 65,000 bedrooms, situated on more than 10,000 acres of land nationwide.
| Jul 20, 2012
2012 Giants 300 Special Report
Ranking the leading firms in Architecture, Engineering, and Construction.
| Jul 20, 2012
Higher education market holding steady
But Giants 300 University AEC Firms aren’t expecting a flood of new work.
| Jul 16, 2012
Business school goes for maximum vision, transparency, and safety with fire rated glass
Architects were able to create a 2-hour exit enclosure/stairwell that provided vision and maximum fire safety using fire rated glazing that seamlessly matched the look of other non-rated glazing systems.
| Jul 11, 2012
Perkins+Will designs new home for Gateway Community College
Largest one-time funded Connecticut state project and first designed to be LEED Gold.