Building Statistics

General Building Data
Building Name: The Scripps Research Institute: Biomedical Research Building
Building Site: Jupiter, FL
Building Occupant: Scripps
Occupancy Type Group B: Business/Laboratory
Building Function: Biomedical Research
Size: 132,675 SF
Number of Stories: 4
Dates of Construction: October 2006 - July 2008
Project Cost: Construction Cost of $47.53 million
Project Delivery Method: Design Build

Project Team
Owner: Scripps
Architect: Zeidler Partnership Ltd. & Bohlin Cywinski Jackson
Laboratory Designer: Research Facilities Design
MEP Engineer: Affiliated Engineers, Inc.
Structural Engineer: Walter P. Moore
Civil Engineer: Keshevarz Associates, Inc.
Landscape Designer: Land Design South
Traffic Designer: McMahon Associates, Inc.
Code Consultant: Code Consultants, Inc.
General Contractor: Weitz - DPR
Construction Manager: Fluor

Architecture
Design & Functional Components
 
The Scripps Research Institute is the newest edition to the Florida Atlantic Campus in Jupiter Florida. The project consists of three buildings and a total of 351,803 SF. Each building has specific design features that accommodate the activities which will take place in each building. The Biomedical Research Building is the larges of the three, and includes unique research area's which drive the decisioin making behind the construction materials as well as the finishes used in the design. The first floor is home to the Vivarium, a large portion of the major Mechanical Systems, and the loading dock area. The second and third floors house research labs, offices, and a common area whith the main stairwells and a three level atrium which staggers back ate each level creating a powerful and intriguing effect. The 4th level is home to the mechanical penthouse.
Applicable Codes
 
IBC
NFPA
Zoning
 
Mixed Use
Building Envelope
 
This project was originally designed prior to the push for LEED accredited buildings and therefore the envelope has not been designed with the intent to achieve a LEED rating. However the nature of the climate calls for measures to conserve energy through the design oof the envelope. This can be seen by the type of windows used in this project. A majority of the windows are made up of Blue Reflective Laminated Vision Glass at punched window locations, as well as at curtain wall locations. The type of glass used at the main entrance is Clear Low-E Laminated Vision Glass in a curtain wall configuration. The window frames and curtain wall system are made up of painted aluminum and tubular steel. The main building envelope system is comprised of a two coat stucco with EIFS finish coat over 8" reinforced CMU with 1½” Extruded Polystyrene Insulation on tohe interior, followed by a 1-1/2” airspace with 5/8" Unfaced GWB on 1-5/8" metal studs. In some places on the exterior corrugated metal panels were placed on the exteriour with a continuus elastomeric vapor barrier over the 8" reinforced CMU wall rather than the stucco EIFS System.

Roofing is made up of SBS modified bitumen roofing system applied over the top of a sloped concrete roof slab and rigid insulation with 3/4" perlite on top of the insulation.


Primary Engineering Systems

Construction

 

Scripps first hired a Program Manager (FLUOR) and an A/E Team (ZPA & BCJ).  During the design development phase, a GC package (RFP) was prepared and issued for bid.  Approximately 30 GC proposals were received and four firms were short-listed.  Scripps holds all major contracts between themselves and the General Contractor, A/E, and Construction/Program Manager.  The GC and CM/PM contracts are GMP contracts whereas the A/E contract is a Lump Sum contract.

Scripps narrowed down the proposals received to a short-list of four GCs, followed by a detailed evaluation of each contractor based on factors such as; Experience building labs, experience with Scripps, cost analysis (proposed fee), Insurance Modifier Rate, experience in South Florida, and the size of the firms through contacting their references.

The GC furnished a full GMP value Payment & Performance bond.  The contract with Scripps required that insurance include items such as; Commercial General Liability $10,000,000.00, Business Automobile Liability $1,000,000.00, Worker Compensation in accordance with Chapter 440, Florida Statues, Professional Liability (for the A/E Only) $10,000,000.00.  Scripps was also required to provide Builders Risk Insurance for the Full Construction value of the project which amounted to approximately $182.4MM.  The GC used an internally managed “Subguard” program in lieu of requiring subcontractors to furnish a Performance & Payment Bond (P&P).  The cost of this program was 1.25% of the subcontracted value.
Electrical
 

The electrical system has a main-tie-main 408Y/277V switchboard configuration with two 5000A main circuit breakers.  Two main switchboards (MSBD) distribute power throughout the building.  MSBD-A has a capacity of 3300 KVA and MSBD-B has a capacity of 3030 KVA.  Backup power is supplied by a 2.25 Megawatt, 6,200HP diesel backup generator housed in a weather protected enclosure.  Loads on emergency power include egress lighting and exit signs per NFPA 101, 100% of all lighting in the Vivarium, 25% of all lighting in the laboratory areas, 100% of lighting within the fume hoods, the fire alarm control panel, elevator cab lighting and receptacles, along with the fire pump and jockey pump.  No loads are classified as legally required standby per NEC article 701.  Loads on optional standby power include laboratory receptacles defined by lab programming, 100% of all Vivarium receptacles and support equipment, information technology equipment, elevators, access control doors, air handling units and fume exhaust fans to maintain pressurization and safe ventilation in the laboratory and Vivarium areas only.  Under these circumstances, the fans will be set back to provide ventilation at minimum flow rates.  Chilled water primary equipment to serve the Vivarium spaces and specific spaces for standby cooling, along with heating hot water to serve Vivarium spaces and specific spaces for standby heating, and the pumps and associated equipment to support the chilled water and heating systems are also on optional standby power along with the HVAC controls.

Lighting
 

In the Vivarium lighting systems require a unique lighting system which requires that all areas within the Vivarium require sealed and gasketed luminaires. The research laboratories have suspended indirect luminaires. All public spaces have architectural lighting systems. The fixtures consist of Linear Tube Fluorescents and Compact Fluorescent Downlights. Intricate sensors were designed for this building. One reason for these sensors comes from the Florida Building Code - Chapter 13 which requires automatic shut-off for the entire buildings lighting system. This design required occupancy sensors as a general rule. Programmable lighting controls were provided for the Vivarium areas and public spaces which are controlled based on the time of day.

Mechanical
 
The mechanical system has three main areas.  The central utilities plant (CUP) on the first floor, the mechanical yard, and the penthouse level.  Located in the central utilities plant are two 1050 ton chillers able to supply 1575 GPM each.  These chillers have a 630KW electrical load supplied by 480V three phase controls.  One of these chillers is on at all times and the other is controlled by Variable Frequency Drive (VFD).  There are two 1050 ton chiller condensers with 100HP on-off pumps.  There are two, Variable Frequency Drive, primary chilled water pumps able to supply 1575 GPM each.  There are two main steam boilers able to supply 6500 lb/hr of 100psi steam, with boiler blow down.  The steam boiler system also has a de aeration tank.  The centrally supplied steam is at 60psi and used to supply equipment such as sterilizers and cage washers.  Industrial hot and cold water is supplied by 15 lb steam.  0lb steam is used for humidification in the Vivarium.  Two Hot Water Boilers and Hot Water Heaters are housed in the CUP as well.  Four 500 ton cooling towers are housed in the mechanical yard.  Four air handling units are housed at the penthouse level.  Two 290 ton air handlers are dedicated to the Vivarium, each able to supply 36,000 CFM.  One of these is a backup unit.  The rest of the building is serviced by two 465 ton units, each able to supply 65,000 CFM.
Structural
 
The structural system is a two way cast in place 10” flat slab with 14” drop panels, 24”x24” perimeter beams, and 24” square concrete columns which run to 12’ square spread footings which are 2’ deep.  Typical bays are 22’ by 32’.  The floor to floor height on the first floor is 18’ and 15’ at the other levels.  The lateral system is comprised of concrete moment frames formed by the concrete columns and the flat slab.  The mechanical penthouse consists of steel joists on 12” masonry.  The horizontal formwork for the slabs and beams was all plywood and timber formwork construction onsite.  The vertical formwork for the columns was all steel forms which were prefabricated and bolted together onsite.  At the front entryway there are tapered columns.  Creating the formwork for these columns posed difficulties which were handled by United Forming Inc.  The concrete placement method for this project varied based on whether the elements were vertical or horizontal.  For horizontal elements such as slabs and beams, placement was done using a pump truck.  For the vertical elements such as columns, the placement was done using a crane and bucket.  Due to the nature of the climate in this area, a threshold inspector took a reading of the temperature of each concrete truck that came on site to verify that the temperature met the placement requirements.  If the temperature was above 100 degrees, the truck was turned away so that there would be no strength issues due to improper curing.  Super plasticizers were used to ease concrete placement as well.

Additional Engineering & Engineering Support Systems
Fire Protection
 
Standpipes with 2-1/2" fire department hose valves are located in each stair enclosure. The available water supply pressure is elevated by an automatic fire pump with electric motor. The piping for this system is black steel with threaded joints. large-diameter piping is black steel with grooved joints. Welded joints are permitted for shop-fabridcated piping. The sptinklers that are utilized in this fire protection system are supplied form the standpipe system. Sprinkler systems are conventional automatic wet pipe. Sprinklers in the unfinished areas are upright or pendent brass. Sprinklers in finished ares are concealed type with painted covers. The sprinklers in the walk in coolers are dry (freeze proof) type. Chemical storage areas have standard wet-pipe sprinklers, but at increased density to allow for the increased hazard.
Transportation
 
There are two 4,500 lb. capacity elevators each powered by 50HP-480V-3Phase Motors. One is located at the Main entrance to the building and the other is located near the back entrance to the building across the hall from the freezer farm on the Vivarium level.
Tele-Communications
 
The main tele-communications room is on the first floor in the Central Utilities Plant (CUP). There is a 400 Pair Copper Backbone Service coming from Building B's tele-communications room. Secondary campus service is provided from a local service provider. 24 Strand Multimode Fiber, along with 48 Strand Singlemode Fiber Links run between Building A and Building C, as well as between Building B and Building C.
Special Systems
 

There is Card Acces Control security system for various areas of the building, along with closed circuit camera monitoring systems placed at key points throughout the building.

Due to the nature of the research activities occuring in this facility there is a Corrosion Waste & Vent System which collects waste from laboratory and Vivarium areas. This particular system is piped parallel to the building sanitary drainage system and discaharges outside the building. There is no dilution, neutralization or treatment equipment due to Scripps' policies prohibiting dischare of any chemicals into the sewers. All waste chemicals are collected for disposal as hazardous waste. This piping system consists of fire-resistant polypropylene with soclet coil-fusion joints.

High Purity Water is required in the laboratory areas that adhere to specifications set forth by LCCLS/CAP Type II reagent grade water (1.0 megohm). This quality of water is achieved by taking purification measures which included; Multimedia filtration, water softening, activated carbon filtration, particle filtration, reverse osmosis, deionization, ultraviolet radiation and 0.2 micron final particle filtration. This water is stored in a large atmospheric fiberglass tank with vinyl ester resin. The water is continuously circulated by stainless steel multi-stage pumps. The maximum uncirculated dead-leg length is six pipe diameters. The piping is virgin polypropylene (no additives or modifiers) with socket fusion joints. This piping system is sanitized with a peracetic acid solution before it is placed into operation. Controls for this system are custom PLC based for all control, monitoring and alarm functions.

Laboratory Vacuum, Laboratory Compressed Air and Laboratory Gas are in all research labs throughout all levels of the building. The piping used for these systems consists of copper pipe with both brazed and soldered joints.