Fast-moving crews give students and faculty welcome new space to work in
This is an artist's rendering of the new building on Wolf Ledges Parkway. Faculty and students can begin research in some of the labs while crews continue work on other parts of the interior.
The official ribbon-cutting ceremony is still months away, but thanks to the efforts of very determined project leaders and construction crews, the College of Engineering's newest building is partially open to faculty researchers and students.
Designated as the home of the National Center for Education and Research in Corrosion and Materials Reliability, the new building has been funded in part by the U.S. Department of Defense. It will contain laboratories and faculty offices supporting UA's undergraduate program in corrosion engineering, which is part of the Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. The building also will be home to the Timken Engineered Surfaces Laboratory, a unique industry-university open innovation model. The build-out of the labs was funded by The Timken Company, which also funded an endowed chair position in the College of Engineering.
It was on Dec. 14, one day ahead of schedule on the nine-month construction plan, that UA received an occupancy permit for the two shared-instruments laboratories and the associated infrastructure that are now ready for use within the 39,000-square-foot first phase of the building. While research projects get under way in these labs, interior work will continue throughout the facility.
The remaining spaces to be completed include a Biomedical platforms Laboratory; the Center for Advanced Vehicles and Energy Systems; a dynamometer for electric motor and drive testing; the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering; and several small specialty labs. Most of the research labs will be part of four research centers working synergistically toward a common goal, that of cutting edge research in the areas of advanced materials, alternative energy, sensors and biomedical devices.
From weather to budget to time, challenges overcome
"Construction of any building on a public campus provides challenges," notes Ted Curtis, vice president for capital planning and facilities management. "However, this project was loaded with challenges, including the extremely tight budget, tight site and a nine-month construction schedule (normally 12-15 months) for a very complicated and sophisticated building.
"As this project moved forward, President Luis Proenza, Provost Mike Sherman, College of Engineering Dean George Haritos and UA's Department of Development all contributed in encouraging additional research initiatives," adds Curtis. "We at Capital Planning directed the required activity for this project and seamlessly designed the additional programs without disrupting the construction progress."
However, demand for lab space has increased so much since construction began that a planned second phase of the new building will begin immediately. The combination of cost savings in materials and in utilizing the crews already in place make the 10,000-square-foot addition possible.