Sundt’s work on the Biomedical Sciences Partnership Building in Downtown Phoenix was one of the stars of the show at the recent American Institute of Architects (AIA) Arizona State Conference.
The joint venture with DPR Construction built a 245,000-square-foot high-rise facility where collaborative work in neurosciences, healthcare outcomes, cancer and medicine is expected to lead to groundbreaking discoveries with a direct impact on public health.
The team presented during the lessons learned segment of the conference, detailing how it worked with a fast-track schedule to construct the building in just 30 months. The efforts shaved two years off the schedule for the University of Arizona.
“You told a story that was moving and meaningful to conference attendees,” AIA Board Member and 2018 President Robert Miller said.
Time constraints on design resulted in only six months from the start of programming to shovels in the ground. Construction needed to start well before the design was finished, which meant no room for waste in the design and construction process.
Collaboration between the University and the design and construction teams was essential to maximize work hours. By pricing design concepts on an ongoing basis with an integrated team rather than waiting for a complete set of documents to identify overages all but eliminated re-design. Similarly, a rapid parametric model-based estimating effort allowed the design firm to adjust its model and see the costs of those changes in real time.
To keep pace, design decisions and assumptions were made early on and with limited information, requiring trust among all partners to work through and accept associated risk. Key trade partners were brought on early to help mitigate risks and reduce over-design and re-work.
The facility earned an Engineering News-Record Southwest Best Project Award. It’s part of the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, a city initiative bringing bioresearch and education to downtown. At build-out, the campus is anticipated to generate an annual economic impact of $2.1 billion.