University of Illinois at Chicago
Research Facility Aims for Design Home Run

by Craig Barner

A home run was more than a thought during the construction of the $105 million College of Medicine Research Building at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

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It reflects the programming and design intent of the project, and it hints at the site's history.

The facility on South Wolcott Avenue is on the spot of the West Side Grounds, the home of the Chicago Cubs from 1893 to 1915. The baseball team with woeful postseason history won its last World Championship in 1908 against the Detroit Tigers while calling the area home.

The university wanted the COMRB to be a winner, too, like the Cubs of yore.

It also wanted to provide design flexibility because researchers who will use the laboratory may have different needs, said Boyd Black, director of project management services for the school's Office for Capital Programs.

For example, gasses and other services will be fed from the wall, rather than the ceiling or floor. The advantage is that casework can be added or removed depending on researcher needs.

"Not all the researchers need the gasses at every bench," Black added.

Each exhaust alcove has a fume hood to take away gasses and odors, but a second fume hood can be added should a researcher need the additional exhaust.

Demising walls that separate laboratories on each floor can be removed if a larger space is required.

"But all the lab space is essentially identical so that it is flexible," Black said. "It is generic space anyone can move into and use."

The typical laboratory floor has sterilizers, biological safety cabinets, washer/dryer units, high performance ovens, ice machines, X-ray processors and environmental rooms, in addition to benches and fume hoods.

UIC officials visited research facilities at Princeton University in New Jersey and the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to study how design concepts allow scientists the adaptability they need, Black said. The also visited a research facility under construction at Yale University in Connecticut.

Aesthetic Hit Sought

Good aesthetics were part of the game plan, too.

Red brick was selected as the primary cladding of the facility's west façade, in part to reflect the materials of the Medical Sciences Building and College of Medicine West Tower to the north. A tower frames the COMRB entrance, much as one does the West Tower. Buttresses on the COMRB call to mind the collegiate Gothic style seen throughout the campus.

In addition, the large number of windows on the COMRB line up with those on the two buildings to its north.

"That meant our floor-to-floor heights in the new building were lower than you'd typically have these days with a stand-alone building," Black said. "So we accommodated mechanical systems by having more vertical duct shafts."

At the same time, several elements help keep the COMRB look contemporary, including the curtain wall on the building's south and east sides.

The precast concrete and metal panel cladding give the tower a spare, modern look, rather than the imposing appearance masonry would.

The "very white" precast and curtain wall on the courtyard-facing east facade also help give the building a current look, Black said. A side benefit is that the color keeps the facade appealing.

"When people are in the courtyard, it doesn't look like there is this huge, overbearing masonry structure blocking out everything," he added.

Extra Inning Construction

Work began on the 335,000-sq.-ft. facility about four years ago.

The plan called for a portion of the Biologic Resources Laboratory, a facility to the south with vivarium, to be demolished and the remaining part to be integrated with the COMRB, said Tom Tomsovic, senior project manager with Turner Construction Co. in Chicago, the construction manager.

Before demolition could start, asbestos was removed from the BRL portion to be retained, and the facility was reprogrammed. This included relocating the cage washing system because of the large number of research animals and building a loading dock.

A saw cut was made, the one-story portion and basement were demolished and a support beam was added.

"Extreme coordination" in utility shutdowns and demolition and construction time were required over a one- to 1.5-year period and beyond so BRL researchers and their test animals were not adversely impacted, said Patrick Duffy, Turner project superintendent.

A second structure was fully demolished as part of the project.

The university's Black said that the University of Illinois College of Medicine had the largest enrollment nationwide with 1,336 students on four campuses, including Chicago, in fall 2003, the latest data available. There are 763 students at the Chicago campus alone. It is building the COMRB in part because more space is needed for an increasing amount of research.

Besides laboratories and the attached vivarium, the COMRB will hold offices and an auditorium. The concrete-framed building with rectangular shape will have eight floors and two penthouse and two basement levels.
Construction is expected to be complete in May or June.

Building Fundamentals

Sound principles guided the team during the major project segments.

In the early sitework phase, earth retention was required so that the excavation depth did not cause nearby structures to shift, said John Wysockey, vice president of Gary-based Thatcher Engineering Corp., the earth retention engineer. The cut depth on the hole's south end was about 31 ft. and went to 44 ft. for the elevator.

Fluted steel sheeting was installed around three-quarters of the perimeter, while soldier beams with lagging were put on the tight north end.

"The sheet piling was 14 in. in depth from front to back, whereas the solider beams were only 12 in.," Wysockey said. "But the lagging boards were set back - what we call back lagging - and by doing that we created some extra space."

The earth retention included the drilling of 185 tiebacks over two levels, grouting them under pressure and attaching them to the horizontal whaler beams on the perimeter's interior face.

Logistics was an issue in part because deliveries of precast and other materials came in to the courtyard via an alley where two below-grade tunnels - one for pedestrians and the other for utilities are located, Turner's Duffy said. The pedestrian tunnel was shut for the project duration, and both were shored internally with steel towers to prevent collapse.

Two other tunnels were protected with steel plates because heavy equipment was not driven over them.

Once the building was enclosed, a great deal of attention was devoted to the installation of the substantial mechanical, electrical and plumbing system. A year was spent coordinating the process.

The two basement and two steel-framed penthouse levels hold the mechanical systems, Tomsovic said. The sequence of air-handling unit installation was staggered to allow the units to be installed during the structural erection.

On the lower level, concrete slab portions were left out so air handling unit sections could be hoisted and slid into place and the hole filled up. Above, beams were left out so air handlers could be dropped in place.

A laboratory mock-up was built on the second floor to review the design, Tomsovic said. Changes included the relocation of soffits to ensure easy access to cable trays.