This unique complex on Portland’s South Waterfront consists of two parts: the 12-story Skourtes Tower on the north and a five-story south wing connected by an atrium, along with underground parking. The on-time completion was made possible on a very short timeline (37 months for design and construction) using advanced BIM techniques. Concepts were vetted in real-time with early modeling and co-location.
One of the highlights of the building are five floors of collaborative research facilities, designed to accommodate a rotation of the nation’s premier cancer research scientists. In support of these research efforts is the Oregon Center for Spatial Systems Biomedicine – housing seven electron microscopes (TEM and SEM) and numerous ILEM and other optical microscopes. All of which have extremely low tolerances for vibration, electromagnetic interference (EMI), heat and cooling variances, and lighting requirements.
The LEED Platinum Robertson Life Sciences Building is a unique, multi-use facility housing five stories above-grade of advanced biomedical research, as well as undergraduate science education, and medical and dental professional programs which will serve over 1600 students annually.
JE Dunn co-located with the design team, engineers, and owner to collaboratively create a BIM model that provided consistent data for wind dispersion analysis, smoke control and life safety calculations, energy modeling, lighting calculations and HVAC loads. The model delivered real-time coordination of trades and allowed for concepts to be vetted in real-time. Other construction practices used to save time and improve quality included prefabrication. By fabricating offsite and scheduling just-in-time delivery, it’s estimated the project saved 15% compared to on-site fabrication.
With three primary owners on the project (OHSU, PSU, OSU), we developed and implemented a comprehensive cost tracking mechanism based on square footage and support systems allocation. This enabled the team to follow and report project costs on a by-owner basis.
This project had four distinct funding sources that could not share costs. If one project ran over budget, funds could not be transferred from another project. This was in effect four separate GMP projects that all had to come in on budget. Utilizing our collaborative project management system (CMiC), we gave every cost incurred on the project an auditable “Color of Money” assignment and tracked it from inception to completion. With this detailed level of data, JE Dunn forecasted costs accurately allowing the team to finish the project under budget.
