A few of the major project components included:

• 11 new Air Handling Units (AHUs) delivering 300,000 CFM Supply Air through a new SA distribution infrastructure
• New Steam System that delivers 60,000 pounds/hr steam through a new distribution system
• 10 new Lab Exhaust Fans that provide 370,000 CFM of exhaust, along with an Energy Recovery System
• New 2,000 KW Emergency Generator and new Emergency Electrical Distribution System
• New 430 GPM Reheat System including all pumps, heat exchanges, and distribution

All of the new equipment tied in to the University's campus-wide systems control infrastructure which allowed remote monitoring and control of all new systems. DPR worked with the team during preconstruction to devise temporary connections and bypasses in order to provide seamless environmental conditions to stakeholders.

The DPR team utilized 3D and 4D BIM to plan project phasing and perform conflict analysis. BIM enabled the identification and resolution of five major conflicts before construction began. The team also devised a plan for structural improvements that did not impact research operations by performing the work from the shaft side of the beams and columns. This work led to the discovery of unknown asbestos fireproofing in the columns and lead paint that had to be mitigated. By utilizing BIM, the project team was able to complete the project under budget and ahead of schedule.

The building consists of approximately 1/2 classrooms and 1/2 faculty and staff office space. The classrooms are being built with state of the art audio visual technology for distance learning classes. The building’s skin is comprised of two tone brick work, glass curtainwall and sunshades.  The building is designed to reflect the surrounding campus facilities as well as the landscape surrounding campus.  The final GMP, post-bid, came in under the original budgeted amount.  The Owner elected to add additional Audio-Visual scope into the project using the savings and supplemented the additional scope with additional Owner Contingency funds.

The Graduate School of Business features wide covered porches across the building’s front and sides, extending collaboration and community from the interior. Two lecture halls with tiered seating for 50 students and four classrooms for 25 to 40 students provide space for an expanding enrollment, while breakout rooms and a student lounge support focused teamwork and informal group discussion. The centerpiece of the building is a spectacular Gathering Hall, flanked by an exterior terrace and iris pond.

Multimedia technology-such as videoconferencing, podcasting, and wired and wireless areas-in “smart” classrooms and a state-of-the-art computer laboratory facilitate Internet access and information-sharing locally, regionally, and globally.

Building I is a 15,000-sq.-ft. addition to the present school of architecture.  The addition consists of 3 studio spaces and a new auditorium.  There was no disruption in the architectural class schedule during construction.  In addition, to the 15,000-sq.-ft. addition, the project includes renovation of the 1st floor of the existing school of architecture.  This project achieved LEED® Gold Certification.

Renovation work included, but was not necessarily limited to, refurbishment of existing
areas with paint, new base and flooring, wall coverings, new machine room-less passenger
elevator, projection screen and repair and refinishing of Portland cement terrazzo flooring.

To allow the facility to remain operational during the day; construction was completed during
the night hours from 6:00pm-4:30am Monday-Friday. The entire project was divided into
9-phases to maintain functionality of all existing areas.

New areas of the expansion/renovation consisted of the following:
Phase 1: New Doctor’s Wing
Phase 2: Health Promotions Area
Phase 3: Renovation/Relocation of Psychiatry Area
Phase 4: Expansion/Relocation of Medical Records
Phase 5: Expansion/Relocation of Pharmacy with new retail space
Phase 6: Expansion/Relocation of new North wing of Medical Clinic
Phase 7: Renovation of existing Administration Area
Phase 8: Renovation of existing Allergy Care Area
Phase 9: Expansion/Relocation of new South wing of Medical Clinic

The project includes seven acres of earthwork, hardscape and landscape including a 900,000-gallon underground storm water detention vault. The project also includes an outdoor amphitheatre.

The 36,000-sq.-ft. building is designed to bring construction and architecture professionals together to work and learn as a team. It also serves as a gathering place for members of the industry to meet and interact with each other and with students aspiring to join them in the industry.

The project is pursuing LEED Platinum certificaiton.

The project is a 6-story, cast-in-place concrete frame with PSI joist system; exterior skin consisting of architectural precast, curtainwall, punched openings, metal panels; and stucco/paint or other architectural finish system. The interior consists of classrooms, common areas and built-out wet and dry lab space. Other trades including miscellaneous metals, architectural woodwork and cabinetry, caulking and waterproofing, roofing, doors/frames/hardware, overhead doors, interior glazing assemblies and storefront, drywall assemblies and insulation, tile, carpet, resilient and sheet vinyl flooring, epoxy coatings, terrazzo flooring, acoustical ceilings, paint, acoustical wall panels, Division 10 Specialties, laboratory equipment and casework, elevators, and MEP/FP systems.

The project team installed 12 solar arrays at the school’s main campus and one at its satellite location in Chico, CA. The majority of the panels are mounted to canopies, carports and shade structures; additional panels are ground mounted.

Phase 3 allows Butte College to generate 6.381 million kWh per year, making it the country’s first grid-positive college.  Butte College is the largest solar producing college in the world with a system total of 4.5 megawatts of clean renewable energy generation capability.

The Health Sciences Education Building (HSEB) is part of the inter-institutional campus for health science education and research, and supports the colleges of medicine, pharmacy, nursing, allied health, and biomedical informatics. The new 268,000-square-foot, six-story facility consists of administration and faculty offices, lecture halls, learning studios, flexible classrooms, student and faculty services, clinical skills suite, simulation suite, gross anatomy facilities, class laboratories, learning resource center, cafeteria, student lockers, group study rooms, conference rooms and miscellaneous building support. HSEB and future research buildings are connected by a north-south structure that houses public functions and spaces for the occupants of these facilities as part of an effort to ensure that educators, researchers, students, and teachers meet and encourage an interdisciplinary approach to pedagogy and research.

A key characteristic of the program is a model of collective resources shared by the University of Arizona’s College of Pharmacy and the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, and by Northern Arizona University’s College of Health and Human Services programs. An interactive planning process, which involved educators from the cross-section of health sciences disciplines, has worked collaboratively to create an educational vision of a team-based continuity of care model.

The project is a ground-up, structural steel building nestled into the hillside. The team had to excavate the site and remediate sink holes common to the campus. To further protect the structure, it is built on micropiles and utilizes Buckling Reinforced Brace Frames to withstand seismic activity.

The interior of the building is full of exposed concrete, ductwork and piping. The MEP coordination had to be perfect to ensure that these elements be aesthetically pleasing. The flex space sits on a raised floor and is designed with acoustics in mind.

Built in the middle of an operating campus in the middle of the school year, great care was taken to minimize disruption to student and faculty activities. Working closely with campus officials, disruptive activities have been timed to avoid affecting day-to-day operations. Additionally, the project team has taken great care to protect all trees on campus as well as design and implement a comprehensive Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP).

A key architectural focal point at the building’s entry is a stylized open book feature, accomplished through a glazing structure. DPR’s ability to innovate has been critical as it contends with construction challenges that include a tight downtown site with very little lay down area. The building is surrounded on all four sides: two sides adjacent to existing buildings, and a city street and a utility right of way on the other sides. The system, which utilizes large, 50-ft.-long, 12-inch-diameter pipes to stabilize the below-grade walls, was chosen in lieu of the more common tie-back system in deference to adjacent property owners who did not want tie backs underneath their structures.

• Basement - consists of offices, mechanical rooms and storage areas.
• First Floor - consists of a large “Rehearsal Hall Room”, office, storage and multipurpose room.
• Second Floor - consists of mechanical areas.

The Rehearsal Hall will include a large rehearsal room sized to accommodate 250 musicians, band offices, and support spaces. The exterior materials palette will be primarily brick and glass with a copper-clad standing-seam roof.  The rehearsal room will have an extensive glass window area facing the Arts Commons, which will flood the rehearsal space with natural light and allow visibility from the exterior.

DPR's Self-Perform Group is completing the concrete work.

The project is located in the middle of an occupied campus. Limited space on site has necessitated the use of just-in-time delivery for all construction materials. Surrounded by dorms and classrooms, noise, smell and dust protection measures are in full force to protect building occupants and neighbors from the effects of construction. As an environmentally sensitive campus, the use of windows rather than forced air is common, increasing the need for the construction team's sensitivity.

The challenges of this project were many, including building in the midst of a congested academic setting, site constraints, and working in winter with excessive rainfall. Before one speck of the eventual 50,000 yards of dirt was exported or 1,100 tons of steel erected, 15 months were shaved off the traditional UC system timetable for projects.

Equally impressive was the project's safety record: The DPR team logged 300,000 hours without an injury and worked 12 months without a recordable incident. Furthermore, the owner's representative ranked DPR an average of 67 percent better than “Best in Class” in the areas of safety, quality, cost management, planning, job staffing, teamwork, responsiveness, cost control/billing, change orders, and closeout.

The conference center, with 1,800 seats for lectures or 700 seats for banquets, is the largest facility of its kind in Forsyth County. It was designed with maximum flexibility, providing 10 different configurations from 650 sq. ft. to 14,000 sq. ft. for college and community events.

The building is located in the center of the high-traffic campus. DPR’s project management team utilized the The Last Planner scheduling system to plan and phase the construction process to minimize campus interruptions and ensure student and faculty safety.

The project is targeting LEED Gold certification.

Highlighting the success and innovation achieved on this project was:

• An adaptable, solution-oriented project team that adjusted to changing cost factors to ultimately deliver a project that exceeded owner’s expectations;
• The delivery of a renewable building that achieived LEED Gold certification despite strict budget constraints; and
• Implementation of a “paperless” project management system.

Because of its unique nature, this 77,000-sq.-ft., two-story building was challenging in design and construction. It houses a diverse array of fine and performing arts spaces, ranging from a “black-box” performing arts theatre to music rehearsal rooms, photography labs and much more. The building has over 42 specialized instructional spaces, each of which was unique with its own specific construction requirements.

During the design phase, the preconstruction team comprised of DPR, architect, LPAS, and the owner faced a major challenge when the construction market was hit with a period of rapid cost escalation. The price tag for the project, which was to be funded under public bond monies, suddenly spiraled up several million dollars. Facing a deadline to obligate the bond funds, the school district looked to DPR to find solutions that would shave the extra cost to make the project buildable within its original budget.

The team met the challenge. One solution included an “out-of-the-box” approach to construct a new structure approximately 400 feet from the existing arts building rather than within its original footprint as had been planned. This option reduced the need to relocate occupants during construction and ultimately shaved approximately $1.5 million off project costs. The use of Building Informaton Modeling also saved $400,000 in architectural / structural change orders.   

The project received the "Energy Efficiency Partnership Program Best Practice Award in HVAC Design & Retrofit” from the  California Community College Chancellor’s Office. 

The space includes a fluoroscopy suite, x-ray rooms and multiple exam and clinical support spaces. Included in the project was the structural upgrade of the floor system to accept the x-ray imaging equipment and the fluoroscopy equipment. This renovation took place in an existing operational building and required coordination with staff and building functions.

The project, situated alongside critical patient care areas on the 14th floor of Lutheran Tower, required a disciplined approach to infection control. Constant communication with the facility’s staff, doctors and nurses was a necessity. DPR coordinated all activity with staff, working around the day-to-day needs of the patients, with their safety and comfort a driving focus.

Critically ill patients occupied adjacent floors. As part of a rigorous infection control plan, DPR sealed draft stops and ductwork to ensure debris from the construction area did not enter patient rooms. Negative pressure machines, tacky mats, HEPA filters and other barriers were used as well.

Perched on the steeply rolling hillside of UCSF's Parnassus campus, the new green research facility supports 24 UCSF scientists and their teams in their goal to understand the basic biology of stem cells and to translate those discoveries into medical therapies for presently incurable diseases and debilitating injuries.

In addition to advancing the emerging field of stem cell research, the project utilized the latest design and construction tools and methodology, including building information modeling (BIM) and integrated project delivery (IPD). The core team took an integrated approach for this momentous project, drawing upon the principles of lean construction and used  BIM technologies to meet the schedule and budget and deliver a world-class green facility for breakthrough scientific research.

The UCSF RMB project, designed by renowned New York architect Rafael Viñoly, was one of 12 planned facilities in California awarded funds by CIRM's governing board, under a competitive two-stage application process that initially included 17 applications. The facility features wet laboratories, as well as laboratory support and office spaces, located on a series of split-level floors with terraced grass green roofs. The building is base isolated and seismically designed to move a maximum of 26 inches laterally during a significant earthquake with little or no damage.

The 33,000-sq.-ft. GLP lab includes 13 double lab modules, four single lab modules, seven tissue culture rooms, three linear equipment rooms, a darkroom, microscopy, histology, office, conferences rooms and workrooms. This portion of the project was completed in a fast six months to accommodate the owner's need for research space.

The GMP lab was constructed in space adjacent to the occupied GLP lab, and will be validated by the FDA. The 7,700-sq.-ft. space includes four production rooms, a quality control room, cell freezing room and offices. The vivarium, located on the opposite side of the building, houses small animals and includes animal holding, cleaning and sterilizing areas.

A SketchUp model was used to coordinate shop drawing with the stainless steel wall vendor in Colorado, which saved time on the schedule and improved the quality of the final product.

Integral with the building design and many site improvements, the Life Science Building will be a sustainable building designed to be LEED® certified at a minimum Gold level.

In March of 2008, DPR completed a 10,000-sq.-ft. buildout of a research laboratory for emerging nanoscience technologies for the California Institute of Technology Kavli Research Institute. The 8-month project, which took place in a fully occupied, functioning facility, features three classes of cleanrooms: Class 100, Class 1,000 and Class 10,000 - similar to highly technical microelectronic manufacturing facilities. To offer some perspective, according to Wikipedia, the ambient air outside in a typical urban environment might contain as many as 35,000,000 particles per cubic meter. Cleanrooms, which DPR has constructed more than $3 billion worth over the last 18 years, are classified according to the number and size of particles permitted per volume of air (i.e., Class 100 means 100 is the maximum permitted number of particles per cubic foot).

Although well-experienced in cleanroom construction, with its large ductwork and stringent clean-construction protocols, DPR still had to overcome several challenges in the building of the Caltech Kavli research laboratory. The Kavli lab is located in the subbasement of a five-story building, two levels below grade, which means the space in which to locate the mechanical systems that support the laboratory's equipment was limited. Simply put, space was extremely tight. DPR quickly mitigated the problem, however, by working with the HVAC contractor to design/assist the mechanical needs of the project.

A primary aim in building this facility was to accelerate the pace of discovery and innovation. The facility has been designed to meet the most stringent demands by experimental programs in biotechnology and nanotechnology; to enhance communication and collaboration between researchers with an open, shared lab design and a central atrium linking all floors; to be flexible allowing for rapid reconfiguration of space and equipment to meet the changing demands of the research programs; and to be a hub providing the linkage between the multi-disciplinary research groups and those from leading industries and regional institutions.

Building A was completed Fall 2004 and achieved LEED® -NC Gold certification. Building B, was completed Fall 2005 and achieved LEED® -NC Platinum certification.

Despite a very fast schedule and highly complex scope, the project was completed under budget and with just 16 punchlist items at substantial completion.

Fast Computer, Fast Schedule
It almost goes without saying that one of the fastest computing facilities in the world would be built on an equally fast schedule. The 10-month schedule included minimum 56-hour workweeks for the field teams, sometimes with only DPR-mandated days off. In addition, there were 41 weather impact days—far more than usual in Austin—that were absorbed by the schedule.

All owner milestones were completed on time or early, and the owner was able to move into the space two months early to begin build-out of the super-computer. The project was also awarded the University of Texas Safety Through Exemplary Performance (STEP) Silver Award. The project was completed with zero accidents, zero recordables and zero lost time incidents.

Self Performed Work
DPR self-performed demolition, drywall, accessory installation and concrete to help drive the schedule and fill in difficult to contract scopes.

The project design includes the use of UPS flywheels in lieu of the more typical static batteries. The UPS flywheels have several advantages for this project: they use about 30% less space than static batteries, are not potential explosion hazards, don't require special room ventilation, and have a life span of approximately 20 years. In emergency situations they provide 14 seconds of load at 100%, which is more than enough time for emergency generators to reach full capacity.

In lieu of the split DX units that were planned for the roof, the team recommended using Water-Cooled Chillers and a Cooling Tower. DX units are less expensive to install, but much more expensive to run. Using life cycle energy analysis tools with the BIM, the team determined that although the Water-Cooled Chillers were more expensive to install, over a 15-year period the University would save upwards of $16 million in energy and maintenance costs.

The ceiling in the data center white space was lower than in a typical data center, and did not have the load capacity to support the data cable trays. The team designed the load from the cable trays to be supported from the raised access flooring below. Rather than hanging from the ceiling, the trays are supported from below via poles at the base of the server cabinet.

The cable tray support system was designed electronically in BIM, and run through clash detection software during design. The team was able to see exactly how much space was available for cabling, and make adjustments where needed. In some instances, the design left as little as ½” clearance. Having the entire design and construction team involved in the clash detection, accurate changes could be made in the drawings rather than the field when changes are more costly to implement.

To help expedite the schedule, an early release package for abatement was developed for the portion of the building that was unoccupied prior to the project starting. When the building was vacated, DPR was able to move quickly and could focus on the white space, demarcs and electrical room demo and build-back.

Technical Details

• Tier Level: Tier III
• Structure: Precast concrete
• Raised Floor: 9,000 sq. ft.
• Critical Load: 1.44 MW
• Watts/square foot: 150/sq. ft.
• Hot aisle/cold aisle containment
• Rotary Flywheel Uninterruptible Power System (UPS): 2N
• Chilled Water System: N+1 system for cooling of white space and UPS rooms

The team, including UCSD, DPR, RTKL, and the engineering and subcontracting firms embraced a collaborative, high performance team approach and achieved unprecedented success in healthcare, sustainability and collaboration. “At the onset of the project, we determined that the only way to succeed was to do this as a team,” according to Randy Leopold, the university’s principal architect for the project.

Recognizing the need for a roadmap to drive the team towards the same goals, the stakeholders developed a mission statement, “As a team, inspire,” and core values; integrity, openness, enjoyment, progressive, and determination, which provided a clear focus for the entire team. Delineation between companies was blurred and the team was able to function as a collective unit and perform effectively in the office and in the field. When ever-changing activies ensued, individulas joining the project observed the level of cohesion and followed suit.

“As unexpected and highly complex issues arose while building the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center, our foundation of trust allowed our team to find timely and non-traditional solutions to problems that could have led to delays of many months,” said DPR Project Manager Carlos Crabtree overseeing the Sulpizio Family Cardiovascular Center. “Because of our creative strategies, this project is ahead of schedule and under budget.”

Also contributing to the success and taking collaboration even further was the use of full-scale Building Information Modeling (BIM); leadership from all disciplines pooled resources to accomplish pipe routing, conduit and ductwork, systems, assemblies, and sequencing for use by all trades, including interior drywall partitions and equipment supports.

The construction was completed in December 2010—four weeks ahead of schedule, with a public opening spring 2011.

The buildings achieved LEED®-NC Gold Level Certification.

Sustainable features of the buildings include $3.5 million of dual-pane, low-E exterior glass, which provides natural daylighting and views, and perforated metal screens that shade the buildings. Approximately 50 percent of the complex’s hardscape is stabilized decomposed granite, chosen to reduce the “heat island” effect, and a large retaining wall was made of recycled concrete. DPR also demolished, crushed on-site and reused 4,400 tons of asphalt and concrete for the sub-base of the fire access loop road. In fact, about 90 percent of the site’s waste was either reused on-site or diverted from landfills.

Two of the building’s most notable sustainable elements are the Night Sky cooling system and a 45-ft. katabatic cooling tower. The cooling system, which features a roof irrigation system on a metal panel roof, is activated in the evenings to provide cold water that is funneled through the roof gutters and rainwater leaders, and is stored in a thermal storage tank for the building’s radiant cooling system. The katabatic cooling tower has a structural steel “wind catcher” that captures wind driven by the downward movement of cold air. The air descends through the tower, passing through a cold water mister about a third of the way down, and into the main lobby. The center also features sunshades, high-performance glazing, efficient ventilation with heat recovery, radiant slab heating and cooling, light shelves, a naturally ventilated top floor, rainwater catchments, spectrally selective roofing, and a fully daylight interior with lighting controls.

The architect, Esherick Homsey Dodge & Davis, also came up with the idea to use recycled doors for desktops rather than plywood or traditional furniture. “We contacted several of our local door suppliers who provided us with new, unused doors to install free of charge,” said Eddie Parenti, DPR’s project manager.

The parking facility is four bays wide and four levels (ground plus three supported levels) with flat floors for parking on the perimeter.  The internal ramping system is a single helix.  There are two inner bays sloping in the same direction.  The ramping system allows for 10% of the cars to exit in 10 minutes during peak hours. Two-way drive isles are incorporated in all four bays to maximize the efficiency of the parking facility, and hence provide the most number of spaces.  The two-way drive isles also allow the users to find and access open parking spaces more efficiently than one-way drive isles.  A pedestrian friendly walkway at the perimeter of the facility connects the users wishing to cross the facility from NW to SE.

The structural system is a precast concrete system with columns spaced at 36-ft. intervals.  Lateral stability is maintained through exterior shear walls in the N-S direction and lightwalls in the E-W direction.  The stairways and elevator towers are precast concrete separated from the parking structure by expansion joints.