Fitchburg, MA –A new 58,000sf addition to the science building is being constructed on the Fitchburg campus of the University of Mass. The overall improvements and expansion project includes 50,000sf of renovations to the existing building.]
The project team includes Bond Brothers, Inc., construction manager; Childs Bertman Tseckares, iNC. (CBT), project architect and Cosentini Associates, engineers.
The science center will be furnished with the most technologically advanced equipment on the market today. This includes chemical fume hoods, fume extractor arms, down draft exhaust units, autoclaves, and cold environment rooms. By learning in a well equipped modern facility, students will be well prepared to step into their careers upon graduation.
The project has been designed to the LEED Silver requirements and in addition it must incorporate specific LEED components required by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts such as water use reduction, optimizing energy performance, and enhanced commissioning. These are areas where the state and the taxpayer will receive a long term payback through lower operating costs.
Lab buildings are energy intensive structures. To reduce energy consumption, heat recovery wheels are designed into the ventilation system to capture and reuse heat and refrigeration from the air being exhausted to the atmosphere. A third party commissioning agent is part of the team to insure all systems are designed, started, and balanced to achieve optimum performance. This includes all the lab fume hoods and equipment and the mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems in penthouse and basement. The extensive use of curtainwall achieves 75% daylight to interior spaces.
The project has a BIM model requirement for both design and construction. The intent is to foster collaboration between the design and construction teams while the project is still on paper to facilitate the construction process in the field. The architectural, structural, and MEP engineers created their base documents in a 3D BIM model. The structural steel, mechanical, plumbing, fire protection, electrical, and lab casework subcontractors all have a 100% 3D BIM coordination clause in their contracts. With the amount of pipe and ductwork in a lab building, this process allows for clash detection to be run and resolved before anything arrives on site. This allows for fewer impacts to the construction schedule and mitigates potential cost overruns. It also allows end users to physically see and walk-thru their building before it is built.
UMass Launches Fitchburg State Project Project Team: Bond Brothers, CBT, Cosentini
Fitchburg, MA –A new 58,000sf addition to the science building is being constructed on the Fitchburg campus of the University of Mass. The overall improvements and expansion project includes 50,000sf of renovations to the existing building.]