Using “Total Station” Equipment and 3D Coordination Software, DPR Team Defies Space and Structural Limitations on Laboratory Project

Building solid relationships, as well as structures, is a DPR hallmark. Just ask The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), one of the world’s largest, independent, non-profit biomedical research organizations. Over the past several years, DPR and TSRI have worked together to complete more than 35 projects, with seven more currently in preconstruction or under construction. One of the most recent includes the renovation of a 20-year-old building, located on the Institute’s 14-building campus in La Jolla, CA, to make it suitable for laboratory applications central to TSRI’s internationally recognized research.

Cleaning House

The 90,000-sq.-ft. renovation began with demolition crews working for three solid months to clear everything out of the existing facility. Crews on the first floor made quick time by driving in a skid loader and hauling out debris. The second and third floors, however, could not support this load, which hindered demolition efforts and necessitated a more delicate approach that included crews performing demolition by hand and using the elevator, trash chute and a ramp built up from the parking lot to facilitate trash removal.

Throughout demolition and the entire project, a strong emphasis has been placed on recycling. Multiple dumpsters were brought on site for local sorting of debris, cardboard, concrete and different types of metal, and more than 54 percent of the material was recycled. As of value engineering done in the preconstruction phase, DPR, along with Scripps personnel, the architect and the engineer, also walked the existing facility and tagged all salvageable equipment. Based on a cost analysis performed by DPR, it was determined that refurbishing a cooling tower, chiller and some electrical equipment would be the most economical.

Meeting Requirements

Once demolition was complete, a major part of the three-story building renovation involved upgrading to meet modern building codes. Though some exceptions are made for older facilities, this particular structure fell short in some crucial areas. In the end, DPR had to bring the building up to Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance by adding such elements as handrails, egress lighting and modern doors, as well as bringing the structure to current one-hour fire rating codes.

“We had walked through the site and done an assessment, but it wasn’t until we opened up the ceiling that we discovered that a lot of the structural lumber would not meet modern fire codes,” explained DPR Project Engineer Ross Brown. “Essentially, each joist needed to be wrapped in two pieces of drywall to protect the structure and occupants inside.”

Going Over and Above

Further complicating the project was the low deck-to-deck clearance—12 feet at the highest point, and 9.6 feet elsewhere versus the 16 to 20 feet typical to MEP-intensive lab structures like this one. To make it work, DPR and the mechanical, electrical and fire subcontractors all utilized three-dimensional (3D) coordination software to transfer actual field conditions into the computer and to build every component of the job virtually before the team ever hit the field.

“The coordination aspect was significant to the project’s success,” explained Brown. “We used survey equipment called a ‘total’ station, which uses a laser to scan the interior and record measurements, and then incorporated that data, along with the elevations, into workable computer-aided design (CAD) files for coordination purposes.”

One of the most important pieces of information revealed by this scan was exactly how considerable the differential was between the floor and ceiling. Many subcontractors, doing everything from ductwork to plumbing to electrical work, relied on this information. Additionally, because Scripps’ laboratories all have an open-ceiling design, the piping and pipe racks needed to be extremely neat and clean in appearance. By using 3D models, large sections of piping racks, 10- to 20-foot pieces, could be prefabricated off-site, resulting in much cleaner results in need of very few field modifications.

“Overall, we saw fewer RFIs than comparable projects, but it was the MEP portion that experienced a significant decrease with as little as a 10th of the usual,” said DPR Project Manager Jason Stewart. “The team spent hours analyzing models and working to resolve conflicts before work was started, which really paid off in the final product.”

Though the number of field modifications was greatly reduced by using 3D models, other areas required additional work as a result of the scan.

Just as the second and third floors could not bear the weight of a skid loader, they could not support the autoclaves and glass-washing equipment that needed to be installed. To accommodate these loads, the team had to open the floor—cutting up to 30 percent of the total floor space—and install 135 500-pound trusses to provide the required structural support. In other places, conditions had so many mechanical needs that the team had to scale back the trusses to fit all the necessary pipe work. None of this could have been accomplished with the same precision and efficiency without the 3D models.

Scheduling Challenges

Critical to the project’s overall schedule was the drywall component. Self performed by DPR, the drywall work was orchestrated around the structural upgrades. Each week, the team mapped out the structural work being tackled that week. This helped to sequence the framing crews around the structural upgrades without compromising productivity and made the most of everyone’s time, keeping the schedule lean and efficient.

“Planning early allowed the team to be systematic. Some of the best productivity and tracking done to date in the San Diego region has been on this job,” said Stewart.

This thorough planning is evident throughout the project, which is scheduled to wrap up at the end of the year. To date, DPR has had zero recordable safety incidents, and all drawing revisions have been resolved within 30 days.

The team recently got some company. Construction on the adjacent laboratory building, also being completed by DPR for TSRI, started this November.