More than a year since the start of construction on the new $163 million Life Science Technology Building, the project is 25 percent complete and on schedule to be completed by the end of January 2008.
Once constructed, the building, designed by architect Richard Meier ’56, will be a four-story 250,000-square-foot facility featuring a familiar modular and modern look.
According to the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences’ website, the building “is a centerpiece of the New Life Sciences Initiative, the university’s $600 million investment in cross-disciplinary life sciences research and its largest investment ever in science.”
To further strengthen its position in Cornell’s scientific community, the buildling will also house the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Cornell Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology.
Most of the current construction work is going towards erecting the cast-in-place concrete superstructure, with 60 percent of the third floor already completed.
Robert Stundtner, project director, said, “As the superstructure progresses, other construction trades can start working. The mechanical, plumbing and electrical trades have just started to ramp up their personnel and are working in the basement and first floor.”
Although construction work has progressed smoothly for the most part, the project did run into an obstacle that led to a significant redesign of the foundations.
“A major communications duct bank was discovered in the footprint of the new [Life Science Building] loading dock, between the Biotech Building and Lynah Rink,” Stundtner said.
More obstacles and changes aware the building as it approaches completion and the project team looks to accommodate the needs of all members of the Cornell community.
Stephen Kresovich, project overseer and director of the Institute for Genomic Diversity, said, “Intellectual and physical connectivity are the key elements of the building. Like a hub of a wheel, the building will have connections all over campus.”